Wolf Love
by suomynonAX
Summary: Ruby Rose, a young wolf Faunus just entering society. Loving and beloved by the world, let's watch warmly as she grows up.
1. Initiation

**Alternatively titled: Everyone Loves Wolf-Ruby. I am still learning how to write, so comments and critiques welcomed.**

**The cover image for this story can be found on my tumblr, the link is in my profile. If it is buried under some posts, you can search for it using 'wolflove'. Comments and critiques on my art is welcomed as well!**

**That said, please enjoy.**

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><p>Chapter 1: Initiation<p>

"HAHAHAHAhA!"

"Ruby! This was a horrible idea!"

"Aww, come on! It's fun!"

"I fail to see how clinging onto a giant Nevermore for dear life can be fun!"

Weiss sighed as she thought back to how her day had gone so wrong.

That morning, she had woken up from a terrible dream of her first day. In the dream, some idiot had knocked over her dust suitcases and proceeded to sneeze and blew both of them into the stratosphere. Thankfully it was only a dream and her first day had gone without incident.

Upon waking, she had met with Pyrrha Nikos, the only other student she saw as a capable partner. There was one blonde guy, Jaune something-or-other, who seemed interested in her, but the boy was clearly out of his league. He didn't even know what a landing strategy was.

And to think Pyrrha was seemingly interested in him.

A few glyphs helped her landing and she took off before someone found Pyrrha… or her first. A rustle nearby grabbed her attention and she readied her weapon.

Three Beowolves burst from the undergrowth. Her eyes narrowed and her muscles tensed, ready to spring forward and impale them.

But they all ran pass her.

Without even looking back, they disappeared. If the Grimm were running from something, it might be another hunter. She cautiously pushed aside the branches and saw a gruesome scene.

Drenched in red, the figure of a small girl slaughtered the last Beowolf. Blood dripped from her hands and some must have splattered onto her face.

Forgetting the initiation for a moment, she looked into the girl's silvery eyes underneath the red hood. A chill shot down her spine as the eyes glazed with bloodlust stared back.

But in an instant, an innocent shine returned to them.

"Hiya! My names Ruby! Who are you?"

Being addressed snapped her out of her stupor. "Weiss. Weiss Schnee," she answered, awaiting the recognition that follows her name.

Instead, the girl just walked over to the bushes to gather leaves and wiped the blood away.

"Weiss. Weiss. Weiss. Weiss~"

"Ahem, yes?"

"Hmm?" the girl turned back around and tilted her head cutely.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing, I just felt like saying your name," Ruby grinned.

Weiss felt the heat creeping up her face. "W-well, stop it!"

Ruby certainly had skill; the carcasses strewn about were a testament to that. Weiss did not see Ruby at the launch, but she supposed she could be worse off. At least Ruby was not that blonde buffoon.

"I suppose this makes us partners," Weiss said tentatively.

Attempting to take control of the situation, she pointed in a direction and started walking. "This way then. I will not allow you to dilly-dally and make me suffer a lower grade."

Glancing back, she saw Ruby following along, though the girl was distracted by the most inane of movements from leaves to butterflies.

Weiss wasn't quite sure what happened, but somehow or other they ended up clinging to a giant Nevermore's talons.

What she was sure of was…

"This is going so far beyond stupid!"

"In a good way?"

"How can it possibly be good?!"

"Well, if you want off, we can always jump!"

"Are you insane?!"

And of course Ruby had already jumped. Before she even finished suggesting that course of action actually.

"Ahahahahahahaha!" her laugher echoed around the forest as she plummeted towards the ground.

Bracing herself, Weiss saw a blonde blur whizzed by and slammed into Ruby, sending both of them into a tree. A few people have already gathered by some ruins below, and Pyrrha ran towards them with a Deathstalker in tow.

Weiss let go and placed several glyphs to act as stepping-stones. Thank goodness she remembered she could do that, otherwise letting go without a means to land would have been fairly idiotic.

Once on the ground, she looked up to see Pyrrha using the Deathstalker's swipe to propel herself towards the group, putting a sizable distance between them. Weiss quickly made her way to join and was introduced to everyone.

"Yes, pleasantries aside, perhaps we should move quickly," she gestured to the two Grimm.

"Heh. Leave it to me," Ruby growled.

In an instant, Ruby flashed in front of the scorpion and attacked. Lashing out with her hands, sparks flew from wherever Ruby struck the creature's exoskeleton.

"That idiot is going to get herself killed," Weiss muttered as she took off as well.

Closing the distance, she saw that Ruby's attacks were not doing much at all, aside from annoying the scorpion.

_Oh Deathstalker, I somewhat understand that feeling well._

Unfortunately, Ruby did not notice this at all.

The poised stinger stabbed forward. Weiss raised a wall of ice, quickly encasing the stinger and both claws. This also had the benefit of grabbing Ruby's attention.

"Whoa!"

"You are so childish," Weiss berated the smaller girl. "And dim-witted, too hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style."

Ruby glanced back at the stuck scorpion. "Aww, come on! We can totally take this guy on," she pouted.

Weiss grabbed her wrist and dragged her back to the group. "Look, our objective is right in front of us. We don't have to waste time fighting them."

"Run and live, " Jaune nodded. "That's an idea I can get behind."

He picked up a white rook, leaving Ruby to pick the white knight.

A loud crack from the ice reminded them that there are still two large Grimm after them.

"If we're heading back to the school now, there's a way up that way," Ruby pointed. "There are these walkways that guy can't cross."

"Then let's move," Ren spoke. "Please lead the way."

Ruby nodded and sprinted off. She paused every once in a while to allow everyone else to catch up.

"Guys, heads up!" Jaune shouted.

A volley of feathers rained down and would have skewered them had they not heard the warning.

"Nora, distract it."

"On it!" The ginger girl took her weapon and fired several grenades that seemed to affect the Nevermore slightly.

Another volley was aimed straight at her, but Weiss grabbed her and propelled both of them away with a glyph.

"Go, go!" Pyrrha urged as she reached the edge of the walkway. She turned around along with Ren and Blake, and the three open-fired upon the Deathstalker to help buy time.

However, the moment they made it half way across the bridge, the Nevermore crashed into the foundations, separating the teams.

"We gotta get over there. They need help!" Jaune cried upon seeing Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake stranded with the Deathstalker.

"Leave it to me!" Nora shouted as she smashed the bridge to send both of them flying to help.

In a bizarre twist, Blake was pushed off the edge. She managed to swing onto the Nevermore, deal several ineffective slashes, and land next to Yang.

"It's tougher than it looks," she grimaced.

"Then let's hit it with everything we've got," Yang yells.

They readied and primed their weapons and fired at will.

The Nevermore simply dodged or shrugged off every shot. Crashing once again into the ruins, it destroyed most of their footholds.

Each girl quickly ran up the falling debris, eventually regaining ground. The moment she landed, Yang ran off to fire more shots at the bird.

"None of this is working," Weiss muttered.

"Weiss! Weiss! Plan!" Ruby shouted.

Throughout everything, Ruby had not been able to do much, lacking any form of ranged attack.

_Does she really fight with her bare hands?_

Ruby whispered the plan to Weiss who stared back incredulously.

"That's insane!" Weiss shouted. "And suicidal!"

Ruby flashed a grin before flashing to Yang and Blake to fill them in.

Weiss shook her head and started to prepare her glyphs. While she may not agree with the plan, it was certainly better than the lack of ideas she was having.

She looked up to see Yang jumping into the Nevermore's beak, firing shot after heated shot into its maw.

Yang jumped out the moment it was distracted, letting the bird careen into the cliff-side.

It tried to steady itself, but Weiss jumped forward and froze its tail-feathers to the rocks.

She flipped back onto the platform and glanced behind her to see Blake's weapon suspended between two pillars and stretched taunt by Blake and her clone. Loaded onto the makeshift slingshot was Ruby.

SNAP!

Ruby is launched forward by the slingshot. Weiss quickly formed a propulsion glyph right behind Ruby's feet as she passes. Yang followed up immediately by smashing the glyph with a punch.

Ruby accelerated into a red streak, a red lance to pierce the heart of the Nevermore.

Silence.

The Nevermore was like a statue. Only the jets of blood from its chest disturbed the solemn air.

Slowly, it fell forward into the ravine.

Ruby hung onto the rock-face with one hand. She breathed heavily while covered head to toe in blood, but waved and grinned to the girls that helped her.

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><p>The moment they returned, Weiss and Ruby were ordered to the headmaster's office where Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch awaited.<p>

Glynda took one look at Ruby before flicking her riding crop. Every speck of blood on the girl was pulled off and sent down the drain.

Ruby started to grin at her thankfully but immediately wilted from the severity of Glynda's glare. Glynda took Ruby to another room, leaving Weiss alone with Ozpin.

"I must say I am impressed, Ms. Schnee. Not many students can take on an adult Nevermore and win, and certainly never during initiation."

"Not at all, sir," Weiss blushed at the praise. "But truth be told, Ruby came up with the plan."

"Ah yes, what do you make of her?"

_Rash. Impulsive. Deliriously happy. Insufferably optimistic. Fast. Strong._

"While I believe Pyrrha and I would have been the best match, Ruby is suitably skilled."

"I see," Ozpin sipped his coffee. "Come with me for a bit, Ms. Schnee."

He led her to another room. A one-way glass wall stood between them and Ruby being chastised by Glynda.

"You went against specific instructions not to enter the forest and disrupted the initiation. Furthermore, you endangered not only yourself but several students."

With every word, Ruby seemed to shrink smaller and smaller into her chair.

"Anything you have to say for yourself?"

"Is Weiss going to be okay?" Ruby whispered.

"You see Ms. Schnee," Ozpin addressed Weiss while keeping his gaze on the scene in front of him. "Due to circumstances, Ruby is staying at Beacon, under the care of the faculty. She was not supposed to be in the forest today, and would certainly not be entering as a student for another two years."

Weiss gaped at him in shock.

"Unfortunately, as you are not a student, Ms. Schnee is left without a partner," Glynda explained. "Which also means she technically fails the initiation."

"T-then I'll become a student!" Ruby shouted. "Then she won't fail, right?"

"Impossible," Glynda shot her down immediately. "Putting aside the age issue, you are not ready."

"Then I'll just have to be ready," Ruby argued. "I can't let Weiss get in trouble because of me."

"Are you truly prepared for that, Ruby?" Ozpin spoke.

Ruby must have heard him because she starts looking wildly around the room.

"Yeah. I don't care what it takes, but I'll become a student. I'll become Weiss' partner! And I'll be the best partner she's ever had!"

"Bold words. Well then, there's only one issue at hand."

Ozpin pressed a button on the wall and the section slid out of view, revealing Ozpin and Weiss.

"What do you think, Ms. Schnee?"

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><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

On their way back, everyone talked excitedly about the battle they just had. Taking on two Grimm that might have been decades, if not centuries, old is no mean feat. Ruby had impressed everyone with her plan, though the girl still walked behind everyone, dripping blood everywhere.

"So we need to come up with a super awesome name for that attack!" Nora shouted. "That way, if you guys need to use it again, you'd be ready."

"Hopefully, we never will," Weiss muttered. The plan had been reckless at best and a small part of her worried for the girl when she was hurled like a javelin.

"You could just call it, throw Ruby at the opponent," Jaune suggested.

"Nope," Yang spoke, popping the 'p'. "We need to come up with the longest, coolest, most ridiculous name ever."

And so they went back and forth adding more and more needless words onto the unnecessary name. Blake, Pyrrha, and even Ren offered suggestions during various parts of the process.

"Okay so here's the name!" Nora announced while bouncing up and down.

[Red Rose Sign] ~ Ruinous Barbed Heartseeking Thorn Transcending the Bonds of Friendship - Scarlet Spear of Striking Death Flight (featuring Ruby Rose)

"It's got everything," Yang nodded. "It's got square brackets, it's got parentheses, it's got a dash, it's got one of those squiggly thing."

Weiss face-palmed. Was this what she had to look forward to for the next four years?

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><p><strong>Alternative Alternative title: How many references did you catch?<strong>

**Please leave a review, favorite, or follow if you'd like and I hope to see you next chapter.**


	2. Tales and Tails

**Aww, you guys are great. I got more alerts and favorites than I would have thought. **

**Glad to know that I'm catching some of your interests, and I hope I can deliver unto your expectations. **

**That said, please enjoy.**

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><p>Chapter 2: Tales and Tails<p>

Weiss was not sure why she chose as she did. But she was regretting her choice at this moment.

"Blake Belladona. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. You have returned with the white knight. From this moment on, you are team RWBY… led by Ruby."

_Well, this will be interesting._ Blake looked over to see Weiss' face scrunched in shock. Yang was clapping Ruby's back and shouting congratulations.

Blake did not know what to make of this. Yesterday, she had sensed a lingering smell on the campus. A Faunus' scent would only be that strong if someone had been around for at least two months. Students were only returning from summer, and none of the professors matched the smell.

She was certain every other Faunus also realized this. Furthermore, last night she had heard a faint howl in the forest. Different than a Beowolf's call, there was still something primal that sent chills down her spine.

It does not take a genius to put two and two together and realize it was Ruby.

But just what was Ruby?

Retreating to their room, Blake fondled her bow a bit. Behind the thin cloth concealed her ears: her Faunus heritage. She had her reasons for hiding that, and she will respect Ruby's reasons to hide hers.

Coming out of the bathroom, she saw Weiss readying her bed, while Yang and Ruby were talking animatedly about the fight earlier. She made her own bed and fell into quiet slumber, dreaming of red and wolf packs.

"GOOD MORNING TEAM RWBY!"

Blake shot out of her bed in alarm, her hand already on Gambol Shroud before she realized it and her body tensed to attack.

Ruby had woken up the team, and probably the rest of the dorm.

Blake sighed and put away her weapon. Good thing Ruby didn't use a whistle or some other loud, high-pitched sound. With such sensitive hearing, both Faunus' ears would be ringing for hours.

"What are you doing?!" Weiss screeched.

Blake had to cover her ears, while she saw Ruby pulling down on her hood.

"It's a beautiful day! And I'm finally a student! And I wanted to go to classes with you! And, and-"

Weiss covered Ruby's mouth and gave her a pointed glare, shutting the girl up immediately.

"First order of business, we get ready. Second order of business, we get our necessities from our luggage."

"Way ahead of you," Yang piped up from behind a large cardboard box. She had already been pulling stuff out, a large poster of the Achieve Men hung sportingly on the wall.

While they all set to work unpacking, Ruby ran around trying to help any and all of them.

"Hey Blake, what are these?" Ruby asked as she places some books on a shelf.

Blake saw it was one of her classical literature. She had to carefully give Ruby some of her less embarrassing works when she came over to help.

"It's the story of a large Grimm whale called Moby and the driven obsessed huntsman who seeks revenge," Blake recalled from her memory. She never could decide if the story was just a story, or if it was an encyclopedia for future hunters to fight against aquatic Grimm with a framing device.

"Oooh," Ruby cooed while shelving it away. "Can you tell me the story one day?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Sure. You can read it if you want. In fact, any of these books here are free to read if you're interested." Blake's eyes widened as she saw Ruby reach towards a certain book.

"Ah! Ruby, why don't you see if Weiss needs help with… putting up curtains?"

"Okay." Ruby cheerfully went over to bother Weiss.

Blake sighed in relief. Ninjas of Love was not considered decent literature, for any occasion.

"Do you need help with anything Ruby?" Yang asked as she finished up her luggage.

"Ah, that's okay. I don't have anything to unpack."

"Oh? That's right, you're staying at Beacon," Weiss muttered. "But surely you still have things to unpack?"

"Nope!" Ruby chirped. "Ah! Are you finished yet? We still have to get to class!"

"Alright, alright," Weiss calmed her down. She took a look around the room to make sure everything is in order. Since they only had three people's worth of luggage, there were plenty of spaces for beds and livable area. Less luggage also meant they finished with time to spare. "What classes do we have?"

"Pete – I mean, Professor Port's Grimm Studies this morning. And then Professor Oobleck's World History."

"Ruby, you only sound excited right now because you never had classes before," Yang complained with a grin.

"Hush," Weiss scolded. "Don't try to tempt her to be a slacker."

"Let's go! Let's go!"

"Don't pull on me!" Weiss cried as Ruby dragged her down the hall.

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><p><em>Well that could have certainly ended better.<em> Blake thought as she left Professor Port's class.

Class started out well enough. Ruby was literally bouncing around in her seat and Nora followed along while the professor droned on about his escapades. In the corner of her eye, she saw Weiss' fuse growing shorter and shorter as Ruby's antics drew the attention of the class.

When a volunteer was asked to demonstrate a fight against a Grimm, Weiss naturally raised her hand. The rest of the team, herself included, showed Weiss support, but throughout the match, Ruby kept shouting suggestions at her. Things came to a tipping point when Ruby shouted for Weiss to aim for the stomach and Weiss exploded at the girl.

_Poor Ruby._ Ruby had only been trying to help Weiss, though Blake could understand that Ruby could be overbearing at times. Still, it was no reason to lash out at the girl in the middle of class.

After the debacle, Weiss finished off the Grimm, and Ruby was silent and unmoving until after class was dismissed. She filed out with the rest of them, hood raised, head low, and completely silent. Everyone had offered words of encouragement to her, but no response. Weiss had stormed off to their next class before everyone else.

Hopefully World History with Professor Oobleck would be better.

"Welcome to World History where we will be reading and reflecting upon the major historical events that have helped to shape our society into the way it is today by understanding the context and implications of cultural, geological, and genetic diversities and interpret how this information will impact the progression of society as a whole. Any questions?"

Blake blinked as the professor spoke in one breath. He zipped around the room, periodically sipping from his cup, but his lecture remained uninterrupted. Many students had given up trying to take notes, though Weiss was adamantly refusing to give in.

"Now then, a bit of class participation. I will randomly choose one of you to read a passage aloud to the class and you will give your interpretation of the event, taking into account the cause, effect, and author of the passage."

His fingers typed on his scroll briefly. "Let's see now. Page 302, passage 10. Third chair, row five… Ruby Rose."

Ruby perked her head up at the mention of her name and looked to the professor. She looked down at her book again and started turning pages, but doesn't stop.

"No… that's alright Ms. Rose," Oobleck spoke. "Please see me after class. We'll need to have someone else read instead. Hrm… same passage, eighth chair, row two… Nora Valkyrie."

After class, Weiss once again stomped off while Yang headed off somewhere. Blake was tempted to return to her bed and curl up with a book, but something felt off. Ruby had been acting strangely, and though she did not want to eavesdrop, her curiosity got the better of her.

Leaning against the doorframe, she heard sniffling from inside the room. Ruby's sniffling.

"Here, dry your tears," Oobleck offered her a handkerchief. "I am sorry Ruby, but now that you are a student you will not be shown favoritism. Not with me, and not with any of the other professors."

"I know," Ruby answered sadly. By now, the handkerchief was dripping wet. "Glyn- I mean, Professor Goodwitch warned me I wasn't ready." Fresh tears welled up, and she quickly rubbed them away with her sleeve. Oobleck placed a hand on her shoulder to sympathize.

"B-but I have to be! Weiss needs a partner, so I have to be the best partner. And Team RWBY needs a leader, so I have to be the best leader!"

"Ruby, it's only been one day. You weren't expected to be a student, let alone a leader, for another two years. You are not going to be perfect, and you will certainly not be the best."

"B-but!"

He knelt down to be eye level with her. "Ruby, listen to me. Take a look at this." He pointed to the bookshelf completely filled with encyclopedias on every era. "Through the course of history, the greatest man and woman started as something small. Even yours truly," he gave a small smile.

"It is not what we will become that defines us, but what we can do here and now that defines what we will become."

Ruby looked forlornly at the shelf. "I wish I knew that. But I can't even read, so I don't know that."

He held his gaze on her for a bit longer, before nodding slowly. The realization struck her.

Ruby threw her arms around his neck. "Thanks Professor!"

Releasing him from her hug, Ruby sped out the door. Not two steps out, she turned around to face Blake.

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><p>Weiss was angry. She had gone to the roof after Oobleck's class to clear her head, and she happened upon Professor Port. Their conversation had not gone the way she wanted it to.<p>

He had allowed her to rant about Ruby's behavior in silence before speaking firmly to her.

"And despite lagging behind everyone else, despite how much more work she would have to do just to be on the same footing as everyone else, she chose to become your partner," he stated solemnly. "Had she not, she would have been punished more severely, but would have had an infinitely easier time in the long run. Why do you think this is, Ms. Schnee?"

She held her tongue. She knew why Ruby chose to be her partner. Ruby said as much herself: so that Weiss wouldn't fail.

"I still don't understand why she was made leader," she muttered.

"I don't either," Port answered amicably. "But I don't disagree with Professor Ozpin. In all my years, the man has never steered me wrong."

Thus Weiss was angry. She was angry at Ruby for being at the initiation, among other things. She was angry at Ozpin for appointing Ruby as leader. She was angry at herself for not being better.

Most of all, she was angry at being angry and not letting go.

The more rational side of her agreed with what Professor Port had said. She barely knew Ruby and Ruby was the one who coordinated the attack against the Nevermore.

She sighed as she opened the dorm's door. Yang was sitting on her bed, but the other two were nowhere to be found.

"Where are Ruby and Blake?" she asked. Making amends was not something she normally did, nor did it come easily to her. But she had to start somewhere.

"Why? So you can shout at her some more?" Yang spoke neutrally, but Weiss can feel the prickling disdain in her words.

"No, I just… I just want to talk to her," Weiss answered while looking at the ground.

"Talk to her…" Yang left the statement trailing. She stared at Weiss for a while before getting off the bed and dragging her out by the arm.

"W-wha! Let go of me!"

"You want to know where they went right? Well, keep your voice down."

Of all places, Yang dragged her to the library. Yang led her to the second floor, and they looked down to see Ruby and Blake pouring over a book.

"The r-rain is falling all a-around. It falls on f-ields and… trees. It falls on… u…uh…m… …" Ruby stuttered over the words with a frown on her face.

"Umbrellas," Blake helped Ruby pronounce the word.

"It falls on umbrellas here. And on the ships at sea." Ruby finished with a bright grin.

"Good job, Ruby," Blake congratulates her. "You're picking this up really fast."

When Ruby saw her standing outside the door, Blake was worried that Ruby would accuse her of eavesdropping. Instead, the girl grabbed onto her arm and pleaded for Blake to teach her reading. For the past few hours, Blake had taught her basic phonics and they read a few short stories and poems together. Each time they finished one, Ruby's eyes would sparkle and she would grab another one.

"But it's getting pretty late. We should head back."

"Okay Blake. Thanks again. You can go back first. I want to keep practicing for a little bit longer." Already, her hand was flipping the pages to find another poem.

Blake smirked wryly. She fully understood what it's like when absorbed in a good read. She discreetly looked to the upper floors and nodded at her two teammates. While Ruby was too distracted to notice her surroundings, Blake knew when the two entered.

"Well, there's that. I'm gonna head back too. What about you?"

"You go on ahead Yang," Weiss answered her without taking her eyes off of Ruby. "I still need to talk to her for a bit."

Yang shrugged and left.

At this time, there weren't any other students in the library. The only sound echoing off the walls was Ruby's voice.

"… and sees be-fore him, dale and plain, the p-ple-sant… pleasant… land of k-ch-kr?"

"Counterpane," Weiss voice came from behind her, causing the girl to squeak and jump. "R.L. Stevenson's 'The Land of Counterpane'," Weiss recited the poem's name and author.

"H-hi Weiss," Ruby called out meekly. She avoided eye contact with Weiss.

Taking a deep breath, Weiss went over what she wanted to say. "Ruby… I'm sorry for how I acted this morning. I was upset that I wasn't made leader, and I judged you before even giving you a chance to prove yourself. I was worried that you would drag me down, but I can see that you're doing everything you can to change that."

Ruby gave an appreciative smile.

"You're doing the best you can to be the best leader, so I'm going to do the best I can… to be your best partner," Weiss spoke with finality. Hard as it was to come to terms with her position, Weiss felt a wave of relief and ease wash over her along with her words.

"And I want to start by making it up to you," she said with a smile.

"You can make it up to me right now," Ruby shyly smiled at her. "Can you teach me what counterpane means?"

Weiss stared at Ruby. Of all things she could have asked for. No matter how pricey it may be, Weiss could probably have bought it for her. Instead, she just asks a simple question.

_Dunce. But you have my respects now._ She shook her head to clear the thought away. "Counterpane means bedspread," her look became stern. "Which is where we should be right now."

Ruby looked around and finally notices how dark the sky was. Nodding happily, she picked up the books and deposited them in the return area. Weiss waited for her to catch up at the exit, but the moment Ruby reached her, she latched onto Weiss' arm.

"W-what are you doing?" Weiss half-whispered, half-screamed.

"Please?" Ruby looked up from where she held on.

Seeing that face, Weiss' resolve crumbled. "Fine, but only for tonight and if anyone comes by, you're letting go immediately."

Ruby eagerly nodded.

Walking down the dark corridors, Weiss reflected on what has happened since her arrival. So many unexpected turn of events, nearly all of them centered around the little girl in a red hood. A red hood that she has never seen down.

Before she could voice her question, she felt something warm brush against her lower leg.

She stiffened. "Ruby, what was that?"

"Eh-heh-heh," Ruby giggled and blushed slightly. "Sorry, that was my tail."

…

…

"YOUR WHAT?!"

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><p><strong>Hope you all enjoyed that. Oobleck is quickly becoming my favorite professor and I hope I did him justice. <strong>


	3. That's Okay - Philia

**I'm getting questions? I'm getting questions! **

**Regarding romance, I wanted to explore "love" alongside Ruby. I would answer more... but let's watch warmly as she grows.**

**In regards Blake... without further ado, the chapter.**

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><p>Chapter 3: That's Okay - Philia<p>

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Weiss' footsteps echoed in the dorm room as she paced back and forth, her teammates staring at her. She stopped and took a deep breath.

Turning to face Ruby, she pointed, "You- you're – you're…"

"Sooooo cute," Yang squealed as she hugged Ruby tighter.

Though Ruby was crushed between Yang's arms and assets, her tail whipped back and forth in happiness. Her hood is down, revealing two ears atop her head, black at the base and ending in red tips like her hair.

"Among other things," grumbled Weiss. Last night's revelation had been quite a shock, and though she didn't wake up half the dorm with her scream, she stayed awake for half the night. Thus she was in quite a mood in the morning.

"You're a Faunus?"

"Yep! Ozpin told me I was a wolf Faunus."

"Why were you hiding that you were a Faunus?" Weiss' voice turned accusatory.

Ruby cocked her head into a tilt. "I wasn't hiding."

"But we didn't know you were one at all," Yang spoke up while still hugging Ruby. She wasn't nearly as guarded as Weiss. "You kept your hood up the whole time."

"You guys never asked."

"What do you guys have against the Faunus anyways?" Blake asked. Though she knew Ruby was a Faunus before they did, she will refrain from letting that information slip for now. It would only cause more questions than she'd like.

"Against Faunus, not much," Weiss faced Blake and answered. She rounded upon Ruby. "But are you a White Fang?"

"Yep!" Ruby answered happily. Every looked at her in shock. "My teeth are really white!"

"Ugh… this is going to take some time to explain," Weiss sighed.

"Well, can we do it at breakfast?" Yang suggested.

"Yay, breakfast!" Ruby cheered.

"Breakfast does sound like a good idea," Blake agreed. "Are you sure you want to let everyone know you're a Faunus?" At Ruby's expression, Blake quickly intervened before Ruby accidentally revealed her secret. "Some Faunus have reasons to want to hide what they are. We can talk more at breakfast."

Blake sent Ruby a meaningful look, and thankfully Ruby seemed to understand. Ruby nodded quickly and the group moved towards the cafeteria.

Team JNPR's expressions were to be expected: Nora cooing along with Yang on how cute Ruby is, Pyrrha and Jaune shocked but agreeing, and Ren calmly ate his breakfast while complimenting how nice her ears looked.

"You see Ruby, not many people have… favorable opinions about the Faunus," Weiss began to explain.

"That's putting it lightly," Yang muttered. Her attention was drawn to the scene before her. Her comment and gaze drew everyone else as well. Team CRDL was harassing a rabbit Faunus girl.

"Atrocious," Pyrrha spoke with narrowed eyes.

"Ow! That hurts," the rabbit girl whimpered. They were pulling really hard on one of her ears. "Please stop…"

"That's why some Faunus prefer to hide what they are, Ruby," Blake explained, but upon looking to where Ruby sat, she was nowhere to be found. "Ruby?"

"HEY! Cut that out!" Ruby shouted as she marched up to them.

Everyone in the room froze. The bully's grip slackened at her shout and offered no resistance as Ruby pulled the girl behind her.

Cardin Winchester, the leader of Team CRDL and resident bully, stared into the silvery eyes shining with righteous justice. He shook his head to snap out of it. "Another Faunus huh?"

Ruby's face went from upset to grinning immediately. "Yep! My name's Ruby! What's your name?"

"I didn't ask for your name," he instinctively shouted back. He narrowed his eyes and an insult was already on his tongue, but he saw Team RWBY and JNPR moving towards them. "Tch, come on guys. Let's get ready for class."

Team CRDL quickly left before a fight inevitably erupted.

"Are you okay?" Ruby turned around to ask the girl.

"I-I'm fine," she answered quietly.

"Oh! I'm Ruby, and these are my friends," Ruby quickly introduced them. "What about you?"

"I'm Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina." She offered a smile. "Thank you for standing up for me."

"Why were they hurting you?" Ruby asked with a frown.

"If you had listened before running off," Weiss chided. "Humans and Faunus have discriminated against each other for centuries now. Though we are making strides in overcoming those barriers, old prejudices still lingers."

"But why? We're not any different. I mean, we laugh when we're happy and cry when we're sad, and we can all help each other, right?"

"If only everyone can have that kind of common sense, then the world would surely be a happier place," Pyrrha agreed.

Breakfast was soon over, but Ruby offered Velvet a seat with them whenever they happened to be in the cafeteria together. Of course, the invitation also extended to the rest of her team.

* * *

><p>A day later and Blake still disagreed with how Weiss answered Ruby's question: a typical human's justification of mistreatment and promises of making strides when little has been achieved.<p>

Yet at the same time, she couldn't fault the heiress for her answer. Not because of Weiss' upbringing, but because of Ruby.

Blake sighed as her thoughts drifted once again to the girl. She had seen innocence and optimism like Ruby's once. A long time ago… in a little girl named Blake Belladonna. After years of hardships, failures, and seeing the true face of man and the world, the childish youth is replaced with a cold and bitter blade.

She didn't want Ruby to lose that innocence.

Even if it meant staying her tongue and hiding her feelings, she didn't want Ruby to face that darkness and become as dark and cynical as she is.

Blake sat beneath a tree in the courtyard, trying to clear her mind. The warm sun made it a nice location for a catnap if she wanted to, but the recent conversation still weighed heavily in her thoughts.

Her ears twitched as the leaves rustled overhead. As she turned to look, Ruby appeared hanging upside down by her knees.

"Hi Blake!" she cheerfully greeted as she let go and landed on all fours.

"Hi… what brings you here?"

"To give you these," Ruby fished from behind her cape a small bag. Blake's sensitive nose can tell they were cookies.

"Velvet made them and I wanted to share them with everyone," Ruby explained as she took out a few. "I already gave some to Jaune, and Pyrrha, and Ren, and twelve to Nora, and Weiss, and Yang, and-"

Blake normally does not like sweets, except for certain occasions, but the look on Ruby's face and how she offered them with both hands more or less forced Blake to accept them.

"Thank you," Blake said as she took a bite. "It's good. How many did you have?"

"Twenty…" Ruby said while looking away. Blake looked at her skeptically. "Twenty two," she relented. "But they were really good!"

She finished the cookie, but Ruby doesn't leave. She continued to stand in front of her, a small smile on her face and gentle eyes.

"What is it, Ruby?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

Ruby's smile disappeared, replaced with a sad expression. "Why do you hide?"

It took Blake a minute to realize Ruby was talking about her ears, her heritage.

"You saw what happened with Velvet," Blake's eyes turned downcast. "Some of us prefer not to stir trouble… even if we have to hide." She waited for Ruby to try and change her mind. Everyone always does when told. Not that they ever succeeded.

"That's okay."

Blake's eyes snapped wide open. Ruby had walked behind her and draped her arms around Blake's neck.

"That's okay," she whispered into Blake's ears. "When things are scary, it's okay to hide. And scary things are scarier when there's no one around."

Her grip tightened.

"But there are friends around now. There's me, and Yang, and Weiss. And even Team JNPR. And now Velvet and her friends. So if you ever want to stop hiding… we're here."

Blake stayed silent as she thought over those words. "Heh," she gave a small smile. "Maybe… maybe one day, Ruby. I don't think I want to stop hiding right now." There were many other dangling issues that would come with revealing her heritage. Issues that she cannot handle right now.

"That's fine. Whenever you're ready, or even if you never are. You'll never stop being my friend, and I'll never stop being yours. No matter what."

They stayed like that for a while, Blake taking comfort in the hug, and Ruby enjoying the closeness.

_Friends huh… never thought I'd make them. Or wanted them._

"Ruby, I'm hiding because there may be dangers if others know who or what I am." This much should be okay to confide in the girl.

"I'll keep it a secret!"

"Thanks, but I wanted to tell you something else. What you did for Velvet was a good thing, and I'm sure she appreciates it. But please be careful in the future. Stuff like that can get you in trouble."

There were those who would take Ruby's innocence and trample upon it without a second thought. Various humans if they thought she was a threat, the White Fang if they thought they could use her. Danger from every side.

"…Okay Blake. I'll be careful."

"Good."

Silence passed between them for a while.

"Soooo, Blake?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to… read together?" Ruby asked shyly.

A smile played on her mouth. No, she'll protect Ruby. She'll protect and cherish that innocence and happiness, that light that pulled her from shadows.

"Sure," she answered the grinning face.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

The next day, Ruby found a small paper bag on top of her desk. The strong scent that wafted from it promised of delicious baked goods. On it was a small drawing of a smiling cat.

* * *

><p><strong>A short chapter of friendship and fluff.<strong>

**My personal belief is that all Faunus can sense each other through their heightened senses. They just have a moral code and silent understanding to not bring it up; like us humans, they do not usually go around questioning another person's species.**

**So if you would like, please leave a review, follow, or favorite.**


	4. Picnic

**We're picking up steam!**

**Oh Weiss, you are so difficult to get right. She's not too cold, but she's not too warm. She's pragmatic but has a flair for drama. To be fair, I do think most of her bad impressions of Ruby in the beginning was all due to the dust explosion.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Picnic<p>

A few days have passed since Ruby's outburst at Cardin and Yang couldn't have been prouder. The young girl was so bright and optimistic, lighting up any room she entered and never failed to put a smile on Yang's face.

For his part, Cardin seemingly eased up on taunting other students… well except Jaune. At least he wasn't bullying many of the Faunus students anymore. Ruby's tenacity dogged at team CRDL whenever they were in the cafeteria. Despite the cold brush off on their first meeting, Ruby cheerfully greeted them everyday. When asked why…

"If we're all friends, then they won't bully anyone anymore right?"

Had this been any other student, team CRDL would have arranged for a rather unpleasant meeting after class. However, Ruby is rarely ever alone, almost always with someone from her own or another team. Her bubbly personality had won over a large majority of the students, not surprisingly a lot of them Faunus.

Yang dropped the grocery bags she brought from the city in the middle of the dorm room. She got back before everyone else, so she was alone for now. Rubbing her hands together, she started on her plan.

Blake and Weiss were able to spend time alone with Ruby, and Yang was starting to feel a bit left out. Granted, they looked like they had really important issues at the time, so she left them be. Now though? It was her turn to spend some quality time with Ruby.

She heard the door creak behind her and quickly shoved everything into the closet.

Ruby entered looking a bit dejected.

"'Sup Ruby? Why the long face?"

"Hey Yang," she answered with a slight frown.

"Want to talk about it?"

Ruby hesitated, but eventually nodded. "Cardin's still messing with Jaune. And I can't do anything about it. Jaune even said it's fine… but…"

Yang scratched her head. She was no stranger to dealing with bullies. But her methods were far more brutal than required. One reason why she didn't want to deal with Cardin, as much as it shamed her, was because the result would be one or both parties in body-casts for a good month. Risking suspension and potential backlash against the victims were more than enough reasons for her not to get involved.

Ruby was trying to help by 'killing them with kindness' however, and Yang has no experience with this whatsoever.

"Well… err… what did Jaune say?"

"…" Ruby looked thoughtful for a moment. "… I don't know if I should say. It's his problem."

"Look at it this way then," Yang patted Ruby's shoulder. "If you can't help by dealing with Cardin, maybe you can help by dealing with Jaune."

"… … Jaune's… afraid… that he might not be a good enough leader," Ruby spoke slowly, cautiously revealing what she and Jaune had talked about moments prior. "I told him that as leaders, we have to be good enough. Whether we are or aren't, whether we want to or not."

Ruby looked to Yang with tears in her eyes. "But I've never been a leader before, so I don't even know if what I'm saying is right."

"Ruby!" Yang said sharply, stopping the girl from crying. Yang took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. "How did Jaune look after you told him that?"

"How'd he look?"

"Like…" Yang gestured in the air trying to find words. "Did he look better? Less depressed?"

"…" Ruby scrunched her eyes trying to remember. "He… sort of looked like he understood?"

"And do you believe what you said?"

"Y-yeah… I guess."

Yang clapped Ruby on the back. "There you go! You can't live life always worrying about stuff like that." She looked at the younger girl straight in the eyes and willed confidence to her. "Just do what you think is right. That's all you can ever do."

For a while, Ruby stayed silent. Slowly, she nodded in understanding.

"Go take a shower and get some rest," Yang suggested. Ruby nodded and left for the bathroom, but Yang's voice stopped her at the door.

"Hey, cheer up and look forward to tomorrow, okay?" Yang flashed her a smile and Ruby weakly managed one in return.

* * *

><p>"Ruby! Slow down before you hurt yourself!" Weiss yelled after the blur of red in front of her.<p>

"Aww, lay off Weiss," Yang said good-naturedly. "She's just excited. Let her have a bit of fun."

"Fun?" Weiss cocked and eyebrow. "We're here on an assignment. We're not here for fun."

Yang shook her head, knowing she would never get through to the ever serious and studious girl. She was right that they were on an assignment to gather Red Sap from the Forever Fall forest by Professor Peach, but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy the day.

"Hey guys! Hey guys! Guess where I am?" Ruby's voice echoed around them. With every leaf a shade of red, Ruby had blended in perfectly with her surroundings.

"Come on Ruby," Blake called out to her. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back."

"Aww… but this is fun."

Blake sighed. "Fine, the sooner we get done, the sooner you can play."

"Okay!" Ruby shouted right behind Weiss, causing her to jump and scream.

Collecting sap was not hard, just tedious. One had to drill a hole into the bark, attach a spout, and let the sap drip into the jar.

"Come on Ren! Let's get that sap!" Nora shouted as she ran ahead.

Team JNPR and team CRDL had also been assigned but Jaune had left with Cardin's group. Pyrrha looked disappointed, but there wasn't anything anyone could do, aside from completing the mission.

While they all picked a tree and got to work, Yang looked up to see Ruby's fingernails grown long and sharp.

"Uh… Ruby? What are you doing?"

Ruby did not answer. Instead, she raked her claws down the tree while walking around it, leaving five deep gashes spiraling down the bark.

"Whoa! Hold on Ruby! If you release that much sap, the smell's going to bring all sorts of critters here," Yang warned. Many animals and Grimm enjoy the sap, almost as much as Nora.

A faint buzz drew everyone's attention and they readied their weapons. Rapier Wasps. They love sweet nectars and saps and they never fly alone.

A small swarm made a beeline for the tree next to Ruby and everyone tensed, ready to strike.

Ruby just calmly walked to another tree and proceeded to do the same thing.

The Rapier Wasps buzzed around the first tree, greedily drinking the sap but leaving everyone alone.

"I get it," Ren muttered. "They're drawn to the sap, so just give them what they want and they won't bother you." He casted a look around, "And there's plenty of sap for everyone."

With five grooves running down the tree, collecting the sap was much easier. The only reason this technique was rarely used was because of dangers of drawing unwanted attention.

"How'd you know to do that?" Weiss asked as she finished her jar.

"I saw a couple of bears and an Ursa do it once," Ruby answered. She had filled her jar as well, and started licking at the grooves for excess sap.

"Oooh," Nora's eyes sparkled. "I want to do that too!"

Yang chuckled at the scene in front of her. "Well, if you guys are that hungry…"

"Surprise!" She fished out a yellow wicker picnic basket out of nowhere.

"Where did you even get that?" Weiss asked.

"Hehe," Yang grinned proudly. "I stayed up all night packing a picnic for all of us."

"Oh? That's very thoughtful of you," Pyrrha smiled.

On a classic checkered pattern blanket were an assortment of sandwiches, tea, lemonade, water, salads, cookies, scones and various other foods.

"I must say, I'm impressed," Weiss admitted as she ate a scone. With the excess sap, the lightly buttered pastry went wonderfully with the tea.

"Catch Ruby!" Yang shouted as she tossed a cookie into the air.

Ruby leapt up and snatched it using only her mouth.

"Ugh, manners you two," Weiss chided.

"That's not all though," Yang said as she drew a round object from behind her. "Since we finished early… how about a game of discus?"

"Oh boy! A game?" Ruby shouted excitedly, spraying crumbs everywhere.

"Yep, we take turns throwing this to each other. You have to catch it before it hits the ground, or else you're out."

"Pass," Blake and Weiss stated simultaneously.

Yang shrugged. "Your loss." She turned her attention to the rest of the players. "Alright Ruby," she torqued back.

"FETCH!"

She let loose the disc and Ruby immediately took off after it like a shot.

"YANG!" Most of the group shouted at her.

"What?" Yang rubbed the back of her head. "I didn't think she'd actually go after it."

"Don't treat her like a dog," Blake chided with narrowed eyes. Far too often humans have treated Faunus like animals, and even if someone like Yang meant it as a joke, it's often not seen as such.

Surprising everyone though, Ruby leapt up and again caught it with her mouth. Forgetting to throw to someone, she ran back to Yang and offered up the disc.

Yang just had the largest grin as she tugged on the disc. "You want to go again?" At Ruby's excited nod, she tried to pull the disc out of the girl's mouth. Ruby's bite was strong and it took more than a few tugs to get her to release.

When Ruby brought it back the second time, Yang rubbed her head and her tail flailed back and forth.

While mostly everyone giggled or smiled at the scene, Blake held her frown.

"Okay, who wants to toss it next?" Yang asked, all pretense of playing as a group foregone in exchange for playing with Ruby.

"Oh! Oh! Pick me!" Nora squealed. Yang tossed her the disc and she wound up for the pitch. "Ooookay Ruby…. FETCH!"

The disc soared, but Ruby stood stock-still. Her ears twitched rapidly and her head swiveled as she sniffed the air. Without warning, she took off.

"What's going on?" Yang asked as she looked around to everyone for help.

"After her before we lose her in the brush," Pyrrha shouted as she sprinted forward.

The group fanned out to find her more easily, but Weiss and Pyrrha were the ones who caught up to her first.

"What are you–" Weiss huffed, but gasped when she looked in the direction of Ruby's gaze.

An Ursa Major stared down Jaune, its chest had a deep cut and Jaune's sword dripping in its blood.

Ruby growled and Weiss moved to attack, but Pyrrha held out her hand and stopped them.

Jaune struggled to attack the Grimm, but the Ursa tossed him around like a rag-doll. Despite dodging and blocking as best he can, he felt his stamina drained with every movement.

In one last desperate attempt, he lunged at the bear. Time seemed to flow slowly as he felt a guiding force raise his shield. It blocked the oncoming blow, and he retaliated by decapitating the beast once and for all.

Once the Ursa was dead, Ruby stopped growling. The three watched in fascination as Jaune walked over to Cardin and helped him up.

"Don't ever mess with my team," Jaune glared at Cardin. "My friends, ever again."

When Jaune walked off, they followed him.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out, running up to him. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" He glanced back to see them. "H-hey Pyrrha, what are you guys doing here?"

"We, well Ruby, heard something and ran off. We chased her and found you. What happened?" Pyrrha left out watching him fight and her involvement.

Ruby was about to speak, but Weiss elbowed her sharply in the ribs since she understood what Pyrrha was doing.

"Oh. Uh… We ran into an Ursa and… I killed it?" he stated, not believing it himself.

"An Ursa! Really where?!" Nora shouted, once again scaring Weiss.

"We ran into the rest of team CRDL and they were screaming 'Ursa'. Yang and Blake went back to inform Professor Goodwitch in case there were more," Ren explained as he caught up.

In the confusion, the jars of sap Jaune collected for team CRDL were smashed, thus they had to recollect. While they had more than enough jars for the assignment, Jaune refused, stating that it wouldn't be right if he didn't collect his own for the assignment.

Still, with Ruby's method, the process was quite swift and left ample time for all of them, this time Jaune included, to rejoin the picnic.

They spent the rest of the day laughing, eating, and playing with Ruby.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

"Hey Ruby?" Jaune asked as they walked back to the school.

"Hmm?" Ruby and Jaune lagged behind everyone else, partially because they played the hardest during the picnic.

"Thanks for umm… talking some sense into me yesterday," Jaune admitted. "I probably wouldn't have been able to do what I did if you didn't give me that push."

Ruby grinned at him, happy and relieved. She gave him a quick hug before running forward to catch up with the group.

Jaune looked at her retreating figure and smiled. Though he had his own issues and Beacon can be very trying at times, he hoped these happy days continue.

* * *

><p><strong>Artistic License - Biology. Any botanists reading this, please don't flay me.<strong>

**We see a bit more of Ruby's wolfish traits and there's more to come. **

**Hope to see you next chapter as well.**


	5. Instinct - I

**...Not much to say...**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Instinct – I<p>

For the next few days, Ruby had tons of fun with her friends. After classes they would go to the courtyard to play and eat. Yang always brought her disc in case they wanted to play and Ruby was usually up for a game. Even Weiss joined once in a while. Instead of throwing the disc for Ruby to catch, they would sometimes throw the disc between themselves and she would try to catch it before it reached the other person.

But something felt off.

Whenever they played, Ruby felt eyes on her. When she looked around, everyone averted his or her gaze. But she felt it. She felt as every Faunus bristled when they see her play.

Even Blake.

They still had their reading nights where they would sneak off into the library after curfew and read in amiable silence. And during one such night…

"Ruby," Blake spoke with a heavy frown. "I think you should stop doing those things."

"What things?" Ruby asked tilting her head.

"You shouldn't act like…" Blake grimaced. "Like a dog." Blake looked like she was in physical pain after saying that.

"Like a dog?" Ruby asked slowly. She didn't like how Blake said it. It felt like a heavy weight settled around her neck.

"You shouldn't run around when people tell you to, or listen to commands like fetch, or catch things with your mouth."

"But why?" Ruby was honestly confused. None of those actions seemed like they hurt anyone. With Blake's every word, the pressure around her neck mounts.

Blake sighed. "For a long time, humans have compared Faunus to animals. Cattle to be enslaved, dogs to do their bidding. We are trying to distance ourselves as far from that as possible. And what you're doing only reinforces that."

The other Faunus had not said anything, but they were all feeling the same, of that Blake was sure.

"But… it's fun to play with everyone," Ruby muttered. She could barely breathe at this point.

"To take a word from Weiss, we're not here to have fun and games," Blake shot back. Ruby remained silent and Blake took that as her cue to continue.

"We stray closer to the line between man and beast than any other creature. Our rationality and reason separates us from our bestial instincts, and- "

"I don't understand any of that!" Ruby shouted. For some reason, anger flared up inside her and she lashed out.

Blake only stared at her in shock at the outburst. "Ruby, I just wanted- "

"What? To stop me from playing with everyone? To stop me from having fun?" Ruby interrupted. She liked playing with everyone and everyone liked playing with her. So why should she stop? Why was Blake telling her to stop?!

She suddenly stood and disappeared in a whirlwind of petals.

After getting over her shock, Blake slowly reached over to pick up one of the petals to find it tear-stained.

Ruby ran and ran all the way back to her bed. Tears streamed down her face as she flew down the corridors. She didn't quite understand why she felt angry and sad at Blake. Though she did not know the words or have the eloquence, she did know one thing instinctively.

Blake was trying to shackle her. Shackle her to ideals that she didn't understand or agree with.

And the wolf inside refused to be shackled.

* * *

><p>Morning greeted Weiss with a somber mood. Instead of being awoken by an excitable puppy, Weiss found Ruby sulking and refusing to smile. Ruby greeted everyone when they woke but without her usual smile and happiness. Yang was perturbed by this change and futilely tried to find out what happened, while Blake just looked away.<p>

"Are you certain you're okay to go to class today?" Weiss asked. Normally she wouldn't condone missing class for any reason, but Ruby looked as if she could barely register the world, let alone a lecture.

"m'fine," came the low mumble. Ruby hadn't even bothered to look at Weiss while speaking, and her red hood was once again over her head.

First class was Professor Port's and the past few days have had students practicing on the various Grimm he has collected. Unfortunately, today was the day Ruby was picked to fight.

Weiss would be lying if she said she was uninterested. Since day one, she had not seen Ruby fight with any weapons, and a fight this close up will better allow her to understand her partner's fighting style. Glancing around, it seemed everyone else's attention have been piqued.

Ruby barely heard her name called and slowly walked up to the front of the class. The professor unleashed the Grimm, another Boarbatusk, and Weiss was glad. With this she'll be able to compare how Ruby handles it and how well their styles would match.

A snort from the boar drew Ruby's attention. Her dulled eyes darkened and a snarl escaped her lips. Everyone watched in fascination as Ruby sunk lower, a change in her persona since morning, her attention on the boar and her mind focused. Her fingernails grew and sharpened into points.

She circled around it slowly, the Grimm responding in kind and keeping its dangerous tusks ready to gore her if she comes too close.

A flash and a squeal.

Ruby was suddenly on the other side of the beast, its hind leg and her claws dripping in red.

Recognizing the danger, the beast lunged at her. It slid by as she dove to its side, slashing at its front ankle. Blood flowed freely and it warily tested its weight on that leg. With two limbs bleeding, it can no longer charge and make use of its weight and bulk.

Ruby continued circling it, forcing the boar to move and shift its weight on its injured legs, lest it risked leaving her an opening. Each second it lost more blood as Ruby kept slashing its flanks.

Eventually, the Boarbatusk gave one final wail as it slipped on its own blood and fell to its side. Weakly breathing, its four eyes lidded, awaiting for its final moment.

The entire class is in stunned silence and Weiss could scarcely believe the scene before her. Ruby had methodically worn down and killed a Grimm using nothing more than her claws and semblance.

"Ahem!" Port cleared his voice. "Excellent tactics! Remove the Grimm's ability to move and it's shooting fish in a barrel! Reminds me of when- "

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" a girl shrieked.

Ruby walked up to the dying Grimm and tore out its throat with her teeth. She slashed through its stomach, causing its entrails to spill to the floor, a wave of blood lapping up to the first row of desks.

Before anyone can stop her, Ruby bent low and devoured the liver, kidneys, and heart.

She slowly lifted her head, blood dripping down her chin as she looks around at the class. Everyone froze as the predator stared at them like she did the carcass behind her.

The bell ringing caught her attention and she immediately ran out the room… into the school.

Weiss could not believe it. The kindest, most optimistic girl she had ever met, had displayed a savage hunt unlike they've ever seen. Even Professor Port seemed a loss for words.

"Class is over," Port announced. Though his voice is level, even Weiss can tell he is agitated. "Please move along, I need to have this cleaned up for the next class." He left as well, presumably to talk to Ozpin.

Though they all headed to the cafeteria, none of them felt they could stomach food. Not after that.

"KYAAAAAA!" they heard someone scream.

"VELVET!"

* * *

><p>Velvet didn't understand. They were friends weren't they? Friends don't do this kind of stuff to friends.<p>

Velvet felt the tears in her eyes welled as she thought of the betrayal.

She was so nice and kind. She helped her. Velvet even gave her cookies as thanks.

But that morning, Ruby had been different. Her normally bright and sparkling silver eyes dulled over and every hair on Velvet stood on end. The moment their eyes made contact, every muscle in her body screamed at her to run.

She was staring down her natural enemy.

But her friendship with Ruby was more than that, right?

All rational thought left her as Ruby sunk low to the ground and gave a guttural growl. The moment Ruby shot forward, Velvet turned tail and ran.

She ran without turning back. Her instincts told her to weave and she did, narrowly avoiding Ruby's lunges each time.

But she couldn't keep running forever. Ruby was faster and soon tackled her to the ground.

Shaking her head to clear the pain, Velvet stared up to see Ruby's teeth bared.

"N-no!" she whispered as Ruby lowered her head.

She can feel the teeth against her neck.

"P-please, no…"

* * *

><p>...<p>

...

"RUBY!"

"RUBY!"

"RUBY!"

Voices snapped her out of her haze. Ruby looked up to the wide and concerned eyes of her friends. She wanted to wave to them but her hands felt sticky.

She looked down to see her hands jutted with claws, dyed with crimson. She felt the trickle of blood down her chin, making soft pitter-patter sounds as they dripped.

Her gaze slowly shifted down to see the frozen face of terror on Velvet. Eyes still wet with tears and blood splattered on her face.

"W-what did I…" Ruby croaked as she tried to remember.

Flashes of red. The chase. The thrill of the hunt. Prey. Prey. PrEY. Hunger. DEVouR. Kill KiLl kill kILl KILL!

She glanced back to see the panicked and fearful faces of her friends.

A gust of wind forced them to close their eyes and Ruby was gone.

Weiss was the first to slowly walk up to where Ruby had stood and found blood stained petals.

* * *

><p><strong>Life isn't all fun and games and what's a story without conflict?<strong>

**On another note, my beta told me this story doesn't warrant an M-rating. I'm not very good at judging so I would like to ask everyone if the rating for this story should be changed. **

**Thank you and I hope to see you next chapter.**


	6. Instinct - II

**So it seems like the rating will be dropped to "T" for now.**

**If later on we come to a scene that warrants a mature rating, I will change it. Hooray for iterative design!**

**Thank you so much everyone, and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Instinct – II<p>

All around the school, rumors flew, from a new type of Grimm to a student murdered. Bloody hand and footprints have been found all over the walls and agitated the populous.

But to Weiss, none of that mattered.

"We need to come up with a plan of action," she announced to the group. "Team JNPR, take Velvet to the infirmary and find out what you can."

She turned to face Yang and Blake. "We need to track down Ruby."

They all nodded and separated.

"We can track her if she's carrying her scroll," Blake suggested.

"Good idea," Yang agreed, already whipping out her scroll.

Even without the scroll, Ruby's path could not have been clearer. Thus none of them were surprised when both the scroll and blood trail led back to their room.

Blake cautiously opened the door and Weiss and Yang filed in after her.

"Ruby?" Yang called out tentatively.

No answer.

A handprint on the door had been the last sign of Ruby, her footsteps having dried already. But the room wasn't that big, nor did it have many hiding places.

Blake listened closely and pointed to Ruby's bed.

Weiss huffed. "Come on Ruby, get out from under there."

She crouched and tilted her head sideways to look under the bed.

And immediately backpedaled as claws reached out and threatened to slash her eyes.

"R-Ruby!" she shouted, fear evident in her voice.

A low but dangerous growl answered her. From this far, all she could see were Ruby's glistening silver eyes. They were no longer warm and friendly, carrying a steely glint.

"Come on, Ruby, talk to us," Yang pleaded.

A series of barks and snarls quickly dissuaded them.

"Now what?" Weiss looked to the other two. "Maybe we should check on Velvet."

"Yeah, we should tell them we found Ruby as well." Blake agreed.

Velvet for the most part was shaken, but otherwise unharmed. A slight bruise on the back of her head when she hit the ground was the worse of her injuries, though seeing Ruby like that was more hurtful than anything else that could have happened to her.

Team JNPR left to perform damage control as per Jaune's suggestion.

"What happened?" Velvet asked, scared but still concerned for the younger girl.

Her hand unconsciously strayed to her neck where she felt the cold fangs of death. Even now she can feel them pressing against her skin.

"We don't know," Yang muttered. "She didn't seem like herself this morning and then what happened during class…"

Blake stayed silent and an uncomfortable and heavy air settled around them.

"Well, I am heading to the library," Weiss stated suddenly, snapping everyone out of their reverie.

"Wait, why?" Yang asked confusedly.

"Ruby is behind enough as she is in classwork and is clearly unable to do anything else for a while," Weiss said coldly as she left. "Someone has to pick up the slack."

"What's her problem," Yang grumbled. "We have way more things to worry about."

Blake grimaced. Was this her fault? She saw how Ruby reacted the night before, and she had regretted being unable to reason with the girl. That night left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Okay, so things aren't as bad as we thought," Jaune announced as team JNPR returned.

"Most of the students have heard about what happened, but they are more morbidly curious than anything else," Pyrrha explained. "The real issue though," she paused and looked at Velvet. "Is Velvet."

"M-me?"

"The professors are aware of the situation and they want to hear your statement. No action will be taken against Ruby until then."

All eyes turned the rabbit Faunus and like her heritage, she froze up.

"We don't know the whole story with what happened, so all we can do is trust you," Jaune spoke up before anyone could raise an input. He glanced at Yang, knowing she wanted to say something in Ruby's defense. Personally, he would too, but like Yang, he was in no position to do so.

"I-I understand," Velvet nervously gulped. She took a deep breath and headed towards the headmaster's office.

"We should all retire for today as well," Pyrrha suggested. "We've all been through a lot and we should take some time to think about what's happened."

Everyone nodded.

Parting in the corridor separating their rooms, Pyrrha glanced back at Yang and Blake. "If you guys need anything, anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks," Yang and Blake answered in unison.

Upon entering their room, Blake noticed Ruby was still where she was when they had left. In fact, her scent has not strayed from the bed at all, meaning she hadn't moved out from under there while they were gone.

"Ruby, please talk to us," Yang pleaded.

Silence.

Neither Yang nor Blake knew if she was asleep or not, but after what happened with Weiss, they decided not to risk it.

Night fell, and sleep did not come easy to the two girls. Ruby's behavior had shaken them and neither felt comfortable enough to sleep. Yang had jokingly suggested borrowing some of Blake's books to make a bunk-bed, with Yang sleeping on top of course, to be safe from predators on the ground.

The joke had not gone over well, and they decided to take turns keeping watch instead.

Despite her turn to sleep, Blake found sleep eluding her. Her mind was too heavy with concerns for her young leader, as was her heart.

_I wanted to protect that innocence… and already I failed. Or…_

_Perhaps that innocence was never really there…_

Drifting between the realms of wake and sleep, she remembered an old rhyme:

_As you're pretty, so be wise_

_Wolves may lurk in every guise_

_Now as then, tis' simple truth_

_Sweetest tongue hides sharpest tooth_

* * *

><p>Blake awoke to tear stained cheeks. Her fingers slowly wiped away the wet trails, unaware of her silent cry while asleep.<p>

Yang was dozing on her watch in her chair, and Ruby was still under her bed.

Thankfully today was a weekend, as Blake threw on some clothes and made her way outside as silently as possible.

Though mid-autumn, the wind was still quite chilly. Not that she minded. The crisp air helped to clear her thoughts and was more than welcomed as she ran through the perimeter of the forest.

Despite trying to ease her mind, her thoughts kept coming back to Ruby. She shook her head and tried to run faster.

_Yes, because when push comes to shove, all you can do is run._

The self-realization caused her eyes to widen and her footstep to falter. Tripping over a root, she face-planted into the dirt.

Gingerly rubbing her nose, she sat up near a tree.

Now with a clearer head, she started thinking again. All this time, she was concerned with how could Ruby's purity and innocence be a lie. Maybe… maybe all of this was just what she projected onto Ruby. Maybe Ruby had always been like this, she just chose not to see it.

SLAP!

She rubbed her cheeks after slapping herself. No, she was running from what she needed to ask again.

_What does Ruby mean to me?_

Certainly she felt a close kinship with the girl. Had Ruby not been a Faunus though, she doubted she would feel as such. It was a close tie, a friendship from their shared species. Something that she probably wouldn't have been able to have with Yang or Weiss.

Speaking of which, where was Weiss?

She hadn't returned to her bed last night, it was still perfectly made. She had mentioned studying in the library yesterday.

Without anything better to do, Blake headed towards the library.

Surprisingly, Weiss was slumped over a desk. Around her littered books like fallen soldiers, several stacks around the desk made it look like a battered and besieged fort.

Lupine Behaviors. Faunus Nomenclature and Classification. Schizophrenia and How to Deal with It. How to Train Your Doberman. Treatises on Howls. Howl's Moving Castle.

Blake shook her head at the absurd titles. Walking closer to Weiss, she noticed several reams of pages, haphazardly stacked and some spilling onto the floor. She picked one up and gasped as she read.

_Systematic Observation on the Behavior of Ruby Rose_

_-Ruby's actions have been inconsistent of late_

_-Ruby has always exhibited savage tendencies though they tend to be short_

_-Case in point Deathstalker and Nevermore_

_-Ursa Major?_

_-Certainly Boarbatusk_

_-All are Grimm related, kill for sake of killing? Food?_

_-Inhibited mental state? Voluntary or Involuntary?_

_-Trigger?_

The page continued on and as Blake looked around, each and every page was completely filled with notes, diagrams, and speculations.

"Mmm," Weiss muttered as she woke. Blake stayed silent as she yawned and cracked her shoulders.

"Good morning," Blake greeted, startling the girl.

"What are you doing here?" Weiss asked when she calmed down. Seeing the paper in Blake's hand, she quickly swiped it away. "No one said you could read it."

"You weren't awake to tell me I couldn't," Blake answered in return.

A silence settled between them until Blake spoke again. "You're really concerned about her?"

"Well, yes," Weiss muttered. "She is my partner."

"I didn't think you'd go this far though."

"D-don't read into it!" Weiss exclaimed. "I just thought she is easier to handle normally than she is now," she spoke haughtily with chin raised high. "Only marginally."

Despite her cold words, Blake felt the concern behind them. Weiss may never admit it and will deny it any cost, but she was definitely worried for her younger leader.

"She's only my partner," Weiss firmly stated and glared at Blake, daring her argue.

"Of course," Blake agreed easily. "Though the drool from your mouth makes your glare rather silly."

Weiss quickly wiped her mouth and muttered something Blake couldn't hear.

"So what are you here for?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing." Blake thought back to how Yang reacted last night. "Yang didn't approve of you deciding to leave Ruby alone."

"Maybe we should," Weiss said slowly. At Blake's raised eyebrow, Weiss began to explain.

"You already know what I was researching so I'll skip straight to the point. Maybe Ruby's feeling threatened right now, and we should leave her alone for a bit so she could sort it out. If you keep pushing at an animal, it's going to claw back," Weiss recalled what almost happened to her yesterday.

_Threatened by what?_

She immediately went to call Weiss out on treating Faunus as animals when her eyes suddenly went wide as she recalled her last conversation with Ruby. Weiss noticed this shift in behavior.

"What?"

"I… might have had something to do with it," Blake said weakly.

"Wait, what?"

"I talked with Ruby… the night before. And I told her to stop acting like… a dog."

Weiss took a deep breath. "Blake, I'm going to need you to recall every word you said that night."

Blake looked at her and nodded. "Okay, so- "

"Hold on! Hold on!" Weiss shuffled some papers around before finding a blank one and a pen. "Okay, start."

Blake recounted that night while Weiss dutifully recorded every word. Blake left out any mention that could tie herself to her Faunus heritage.

"Okay… I think I'm getting the picture," Weiss muttered as she read over the paper again. "Ruby probably felt you were being hypocritical."

"Hypocritical?"

"You were telling her to stop listening to others, but she had to listen to you to do that. So why that distinction? Why listen to one person and not someone else?"

"But I never meant that! I just meant-"

Weiss held up her hand. "I am only stating one interpretation of this. Another equally possible reason is that she felt you were intruding on her territory, in a manner of speaking. Or trying to collar her. Regardless, this still doesn't account for her behavior, no matter how you spin it." Weiss folded her arms and closed her eyes. "The catalyst maybe… but not the nature.

"The common ground between these reasons is dominance. Who are you to tell me what to do, that sort of thing," Weiss murmured while deep in thought.

Blake hung her head in silence. She could see how her words could have been taken.

"Well, this is all speculation, and until we have clear evidence, we can't do anything about it," Weiss said as she stood up. Looking at the clock showed it was nearly midday. "I am heading back to the dorm to freshen up."

Thinking about it, Blake remembered she had yet to do so as well.

Upon returning to the dorm, their eyes widen in shock.

Ruby's bed was crashed against the wall… and no Ruby in sight.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

Weiss stormed into the library, head and gaze straight forward as she marched to the check-out counter.

"Please retrieve all books regarding these topics," Weiss said while handing the librarian a long list of keywords.

"Err… miss?" the librarian looked over the list and noted that the topics ranged everywhere. "If you have a specific book you want, I can help you. But this is too broad, and some are probably already checked out."

"I don't care. Retrieve them if they are checked out," she glared at him and he wilted slightly, but remained firm in his decision.

"You won't do it then?" she asked, giving him one last chance.

His head shook.

"So be it."

She walked over to a cabinet and pulled open the drawer. She pulled out two stacks of card catalogs and walked back over to him.

"Either help me, or they get shuffled," she threatened.

"Y-you wouldn't dare!"

"Tut-tut, volume. You are inside a library," she chided, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

He gulped and warily eyed the cards before rushing off to find her books… all 893 of them.

While he ran off, Weiss shook her head as she returned the cards to their rightful place.

"Seriously? We have entire network databases, why do we still have these?"

* * *

><p><strong>Velvet lives! But Ruby is still acting weird.<strong>

**Also an extra because we need something lighthearted after what happened. **

**On another note, updates may become sparse since I am starting my job. I will try to keep writing but I probably won't be able to update as regularly as I would like. I will apologize in advance if this turns out to be the case.**

**Please leave a review, favorite, or following if you like. I mean what I said about iterative design and I am always looking to better myself and my writing. See you next chapter!  
><strong>


	7. It's Okay - Storge

**Sorry for the late chapter guys.**

**A whole bunch of issues went down on me at the exact same time, including learning how to approach this job and juggling everything else around the times, and also my hard-drive started failing... yay! No. Not really. Thankfully I had a lot of files already backed up and managed to grab a few more off the hard-drive before it completely went under, including chapter 8. Now it's a matter of reinstalling every application and setting up my preferences.  
><strong>

**On a happier note, here's chapter 7.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: It's Okay – Storge<p>

Yang awoke with a crash when she nodded too far to one side. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she noticed Blake's bed was empty. Huh… she must have fallen asleep while keeping watch.

She glanced at Ruby's bed, knowing her leader was most likely still under there.

Even after seeing Ruby like that, she still couldn't bring herself to fear the girl. Sure it was shocking, but it's not like none of them have ever brutalized a Grimm before. Well, except maybe Jaune and Velvet.

After freshening up, Yang decided to get breakfast.

"Hey Ruby, I'm going to get breakfast. You want anything?"

Still silent.

Though disappointed, she headed to the cafeteria. Hungry and somewhat starved for company, she was overjoyed to find team JNPR already eating.

"Not a single word at all?" Ren asked after she finished filling them in on what happened last night.

"And she hasn't even moved?" Nora, the ever-bouncing ball of energy, added shocked.

"I'm more worried that she hasn't eaten," Pyrrha noted. "Poor thing must be starving by now."

"Considering what she ate yesterday?" Jaune said, but was quickly elbowed by Pyrrha. "Ow!"

Yang sighed. It might not be of any use, but she did pick up a plate and loaded a few pieces of food and drink. Back at the dorm, she set the plate down in front of the bed where Ruby would see it.

"Come on Ruby. Please eat?"

Silence.

And then… Gurrggle.

Yang raised an eyebrow. _Was that her stomach growling?_

She heard some shuffling beneath the bed, but they stopped. Most likely she was curling up and trying to conceal her hunger.

"Okay, this has gone on long enough," Yang stated exasperatedly.

She tried being nice and comforting for as long as she can. Time to deal with tough love.

Yang calmly walked over to the bed and flipped it into the wall with a deafening crash.

She looked calmly down at Ruby, who looked up at her in shock.

Immediately, Ruby backed away and snarled. Her eyes shifted from shock to rage.

Yang folded her arms across her chest, stood as relaxed as possible, and gave her the most unimpressed face in recorded history.

The snarling wavered.

Yang took that chance and strode forward with confidence.

Ruby quickly brought up her claws and took a swipe.

Unlike Weiss, Yang pushed forward and lifted her arm to receive the incoming blow. She winced as pain seared through her arms and five gashes dripped with fresh blood.

Ruby froze. Her eyes wide and terrified and her breathing hitched.

Yang closed the rest of the distance and looked down at Ruby, her face completely neutral.

As Ruby stared into her lilac eyes, her ears flattened in shame and guilt. Unable to take it anymore, Ruby turned away and shut her eyes, hoping that Yang would just go away.

Warmth enveloped her as Yang drew her in for a hug.

"Geez, stop worrying everyone so much. More importantly, stop worrying me!"

Ruby couldn't speak and they stood in silence.

"m' sorry…"

"Hmm?" Yang released Ruby slightly to look at her again.

Tears streamed down Ruby's face as she kept sobbing, "I'm sorry" over and over again.

"Shhhhh," Yang whispered has she patted Ruby's head. It had the desired effect, eventually slowing down her sobbing to little hiccups.

"Y-you were s-s-suppose to back up," Ruby sniffed. "Y-you weren't… weren't supposed to get hurt!" The words brought back another tide of tears.

Yang wryly smiled as she held the girl tighter. Of course she was lashing out. She didn't want anyone near her for fear of hurting them, so she did what came naturally to a frightened animal, make itself seem as dangerous as possible.

"It's okay, Ruby," Yang whispered to her. "It's okay."

"No it's not! I killed Velvet!"

"Calm down," Yang's calm tone never rose. "Velvet's fine. Shaken, but fine."

"S-she's…. fine?"

Yang nodded in affirmation. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief as fresh sobs wracked her once again.

Eventually Ruby calmed down. Her eyes were still teary, but she wasn't making any sounds aside from her breathing. She wiggled around in Yang's arm and brushed against her wounds.

Ruby hesitated, but slowly started to lick Yang's wounds.

Yang felt tingly as Ruby's tongue ran up and down her arm, cleaning the blood and, hopefully, warding from infections. Ruby didn't need to, as Yang's aura had already closed the wound, but it was a nice gesture.

When Ruby was finished, she went back into silence.

Yang let go; she was sure that Ruby would not run off again.

While flipping the bed, the tray of food also crashed into the wall. Yang grimaced. She pulled Ruby to her bed, and sat the girl down.

They had a mini-fridge in the dorm for small snacks, but Yang wasn't sure if there as anything Ruby might want. All they had were mostly fruits and water.

"Do you want anything?" Yang asked.

Rummaging around, she saw a half eaten pack of cookies. As her hand reached for it, she heard Ruby muttering behind her.

"…strawberries…"

Yang blinked. She grabbed the carton of strawberries instead and headed back towards Ruby.

"You like strawberries?"

"They're my favorite…" Ruby answered without looking at her. Ruby had curled up on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Huh… didn't know that," Yang said while scratching her head. For some reason, all of them had assumed cookies were the girl's favorite food.

"No one ever asked."

Yang froze as she thought. She, none of them actually, really knew anything about Ruby. They just accepted Ruby, without even questioning her. Even though she never tried to hide anything and answered everything in complete earnest.

She took a deep breath. Well, time to start.

"Hey Ruby~" Yang called in a sing-song voice. "Want to play a game?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Come on~ it'll be fun~"

Ruby's ears twitched. That was a good sign.

"The game's really simple and it'll help us get to know each other better," Yang reasoned. "Pleeeeaase? I'll forgive you for clawing me," Yang hated to use that against her, having already forgiven the girl, but if it works, it works.

Ruby finally turned to look at Yang. Her eyes were still filled with sadness and guilt, but she nodded.

"Great! So here's how the game works. We'll each take turns asking each other questions and the other person has to answer as truthfully as they can. After they answer, the person asking has to feed the person answering a strawberry."

Ruby gave her a confused look.

"Like this. What is your name?"

"But you already know my name."

"Just answer the question."

"…Ruby. Ruby Rose."

Yang grinned. "Say 'ahhh'," Yang picked up a strawberry and moved it to Ruby's mouth.

"Mmmph! I-I can eat it myself!" Ruby shouted, blushing.

"Uh-uh," Yang shook her head. "It's the rule, you have to follow it."

Ruby frowned but opened her mouth.

Yang fed her the strawberry and she slowly chewed, savoring the sweet taste.

"Your turn!"

Ruby thought as she chewed. "…Why… did you go near me…?"

"I was worried about you. When we're sad or scared, we shouldn't be alone. Not when we have friends."

Ruby thought about her answer as she picked up a strawberry.

"Say 'ahhhh'," Ruby stated and fed Yang.

Yang took it in stride and grinned after swallowing.

"Where are you from?"

"A forest."

"Really? That's it? Come one Ruby, I need more than that."

"I… I don't know. Ozpin brought me here…"

"Oh… okay then."

"How about you?"

"Where I'm from? Patch. It's an island west of here. Oh man! I should totally bring you there one day."

"I don't know..."

"Hmm... my turn. Tell me what you did before coming to Beacon. No, tell me about strawberries," Yang grinned.

"Strawberries?" Ruby closed her eyes and thought back. Back to warm summer days and sun ripe berries. She spoke of running and finding the tastiest fruit in the bountiful forest, of laughing among the trees, and ended the fond memory with a contented sigh.

They went back and forth asking and answering questions. Ruby slowly got used to the questions, soon asking with a smile again.

"What are those things on your wrists?"

"Oh, Ember Celica?" Yang activated them into their battle forms. "My babies make everyone think twice about challenging me!"

"You gave them names?"

"Hey, hey, you already got a question!" Yang laughed as she ate. "Hmm… how do you fight then? Do you just retract your claws afterwards?"

"Retract?" Ruby tilted her head in wonder.

"Do you pull your claws back in?"

"Uh-uh, I can't do that," Ruby shook her head. Wolves do not have retractable claws, unlike many felines. "I usually bite them off afterwards, or do this." Ruby backhanded the wall, striking her claws against it and breaking the tips off. She also left a sizable mark.

Yang just gaped at her. The action had caused Ruby's fingers to bleed profusely, though they quickly healed.

"I can regrow them back anytime," Ruby said nonchalantly while waiting for her treat.

"Huh…" Yang muttered as she fed the girl.

"…How's…. Velvet?" Ruby's question caused her ears to flatten and a sadness filled her again.

"She's… fine," Yang answered. "No really, she is. I think she's just scared after what happened."

Ruby sighed in relief but her frowned deepened. "I…I'm a terrible friend…"

"Hey, don't beat yourself up."

"What kind of friend does that? I scared her. I could have hurt her!"

"We all make mistakes Ruby."

Ruby remained silent.

Yang ran her fingers through her hair. Ruby was deeply upset by this, and she needed to get over it somehow if she's ever going to go back to the Ruby they knew and loved.

"Listen, Ruby," Yang placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. "We all make mistakes, but it's never too late to fix them. Do you know of the three sorries?"

Ruby shook her head.

"There's feeling sorry, saying you're sorry, and showing you're sorry. You're feeling sorry right now, right?"

"More than ever," Ruby murmured.

"So you should go say sorry to Velvet," Yang clapped her on the back. "And then do something nice to show that you're sorry."

Ruby hesitated, turning the words over in her head, but eventually nodded. She looked up at Yang, eyes pleading. "I have… a lot of sorries… Will… will you help me?"

Yang grinned, "Of course."

It had taken them a while, and the lack of sleep clearly took its toll on Ruby. As soon as they were done, Ruby yawned loudly, prompting Yang to carry her to bed.

"Sleep with me, please," Ruby grabbed onto Yang's wrist as she made to leave. "...I'm scared..."

Yang hesitated, but made the mistake of looking into Ruby's eyes. Her resolve crumbled, and she clambered onto the bed as well.

Ruby pulled her into a hug and nuzzled her neck, a warm and familiar scent drifted to her as she drifted off, sleepily muttering, "Thanks Yang... I wish I had... a big sister... like you..."

Ruby's quite snoring drifted to her ears as she froze. Yang's breathing hitched and she returned the embrace.

_Geez… you're as troublesome and loveable as one already._

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

Blake and Weiss returned to find Ruby's bed flipped, food scattered everywhere along with an assortment of papers, colors, and glitter, and a large dent in the wall.

Weiss slowly walked over to Yang's bed and pulled down the covers slightly to see Ruby and Yang asleep in each others' embrace. She shook her head and muttered, "I don't even want to know what you two dolts got up to while we were gone."

Blake had walked over to her table, noticing a small card on it.

She opened and gasped slightly. Her eyes softened as a small smile pulled at her lips.

In colorful and childish scrawls:

_To Blake,_

_I'm sorry._

_Friends?_

_Ruby_

Underneath was a small drawing of Ruby holding a book in her mouth with a pleading and expectant look.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7 everybody. <strong>

**But we're not done yet. Has Ruby really gotten over what happened? Find out next time!**


	8. Voice

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**You all know how to make an author feel special.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Voice<p>

Weiss was happy to note that things have returned to their relative normalcy.

Ruby was upset that Blake found her card, more so for the fact that Ruby wanted to say sorry first and then giving the card. Something about the three sorries?

As for Velvet? Things have been… awkward between the two for a while. Ruby had approached her the following morning with a card in hand and a bouquet of purple hyacinth. A good choice, if a bit roughly cut. Velvet accepted them and thanked her while Ruby stammered apologies over and over again. It would have been fine, but Velvet would occasionally glance nervously at Ruby, who would fidget when she noticed causing more unrest for the rabbit.

Likewise, Ruby had apologized to her for trying to claw her eyes out. Weiss had accepted easily enough, certainly not because of the adorable face Ruby made while begging for forgiveness.

Thus peaceful days have once again returned… but not really.

While Ruby was smiling and playing with everyone, she was no longer the wild ball of energy that cheerfully lit up the room when she entered. Everything was more… subdued. As if she checked every action she made and hesitated whenever deciding to play.

Even playing with the disc, Ruby would catch with her hands, no longer with her mouth. A change everyone noticed, but none seemed to comment on.

Weiss wasn't sure how she felt. On one hand, she reveled in the new-found peace and quiet. On the other, she could tell Ruby's smile no longer reached her eyes. Weiss would know, she has seen it countless times in the mirror.

A moral dilemma.

One easily solved when she grabbed Ruby's wrist after class one day and dragged her out to the courtyard.

"W-Weiss?"

"Shush until we get somewhere quieter," Weiss spoke as she dragged Ruby to a deserted area. There weren't any students around so any conversation they had would be assured secrecy.

Once there, Weiss turned around to face the fidgeting girl. Ruby's ears were flattened back and she nervously glanced at Weiss, expecting her to still be angry about being nearly blinded.

Weiss sighed. "For the last time Ruby, I'm not angry at that. So you can relax."

"But I almost hurt you," Ruby mumbled. While Weiss and the others may have forgiven her, she still hasn't forgiven herself.

"Ruby Rose!" Weiss called sharply, causing Ruby to suddenly look at her.

"If someone has already forgiven you, then the courteous thing to do is accept it and move on, understood?" Weiss jabbed her finger at Ruby's nose, nearly touching, to emphasize her point.

Ruby blushed and immediately looked away.

"Understood?" Weiss asked again.

"Yes, Weiss," Ruby murmured.

"Good," Weiss knew Ruby still didn't forgive herself, but getting her to admit it is a good start. "Now on to the real matter at hand."

Weiss' expression softened as she gazed at the girl before her. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like what?"

"What happened Ruby? After… that day, you seem to be walking on eggshells."

"I am?" Ruby lifted her shoe to check under it.

"Not literally! You seem to hesitate whenever you do something. Like when you're playing, you're not catching with your mouth anymore."

"But I shouldn't," Ruby argued.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Because because," Ruby answered definitively, folding her arms across her chest to show finality in her reasoning.

"'Because' is not an answer."

"Really? Because I thought I just did," Ruby huffed.

Weiss stayed silent. Her eyes trained on Ruby who flinched from her gaze. Ruby tried to shift her gaze away, but unfailingly kept looking back at Weiss who remained steadfast in her silent stare.

"Ruby," Weiss stated slowly with an even tone.

"…Yeah?..." Ruby glanced at her warily, like a child that had done something wrong, tried to argue, and then lost the argument.

"Why did you become a huntress?"

The question came out of nowhere.

"Err…well, you needed a partner?" Ruby rubbed the back of her head, wondering why Weiss was asking something she already knew.

"That's right," Weiss agreed with a nod. "And what did I promise you?"

"That… you'd be the best partner…"

"And right now," Weiss walked up to Ruby and looked her dead in the eye. "My partner is acting strange… sad. And I can't help her if I don't know what's going on."

Ruby took a step back and looked away, ashamed.

"Please, Ruby. I just want to help."

"It's okay, Weiss. Really, it's fine. I'm not sad, see?" Ruby grinned.

"Then why are your eyes so sad?" Weiss brought her hand to Ruby's face and wiped away an unknown tear.

"H-huh?" Ruby's hands flew to her face to find her eyes slightly damp, not yet crying, but not that far from it.

"Ruby, you had fun playing with everyone in the woods right?"

"Y-yeah," Ruby swallowed nervously. "I still have fun with everyone."

"But it's not the same is it?"

Ruby doesn't answer and just looked at Weiss. Weiss kept her gaze with Ruby, her face gentle and sad. She doesn't say anything, and Ruby eventually looked away.

"I-it's not the same," Ruby admitted, gritting against the tears about to leak out. She turned away from Weiss so she would not see her pain. "I want to run! I want to jump! I don't like holding back! It's heavy! And it hurts!"

Weiss walked up to Ruby and placed a hand against her back, slowing the girl's silent sobs a bit. "So why do you do it?"

"Because that's what hurt Velvet in the first place! That's what almost hurt you!" Ruby shouted back.

Weiss hesitated, unsure of what to do. She wanted to offer comfort to Ruby, but she was never very good at these kinds of tasks. She had read about them, physical contact could help to ease a person by offering them a sense of security. Hugs were far and few in between with her though.

Her arms slowly encircled Ruby's shoulders, halting their shakes from her sobs. She just held Ruby until the sobs became gentle sniffles.

"I don't understand what 'that' is Ruby," Weiss said softly into her ear. "What caused you to almost hurt us?"

Ruby gulped. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "It… I don't know what it is," Ruby admitted softly. "It's…. like a voice… that tells me to do stuff. A lot of the time, it's fun. Like it tells me how to play… and it keeps me safe... against the Grimm…"

Ruby choked up again as another sob reached her throat. "A-and it told me… I should c-chase Velvet…"

"It's okay Ruby," Weiss interrupted. "We're all hunters and huntresses. We can handle a bit of pain."

But that wasn't the problem.

Weiss' mind whirred. It sounded like an instinct. Most likely her wolf side doesn't distinguish between play and hunt. Weiss didn't know what Ruby's life was like before their meeting, but Ruby most likely didn't have many friends, if any. The instinct never had to take into account that, just hunt and survive. Once gaining friends, it just so happened that Ruby mistook the calls for play or the instincts didn't call for another hunt… until now.

"Ruby, I'm going to say something important so please listen to all of it first, okay?" Weiss asked and waited for Ruby to nod.

"It's okay to listen to that voice." Weiss felt Ruby immediately tensing under her arms. "Listening is fine. But don't immediately do what it says. Listen to it, and then decide. If you think it is going to hurt someone or hurt yourself, then don't do it. But if you think it is a good idea, then you should do it."

Weiss turned Ruby around to face her. "That voice is a part of you, Ruby. And running won't help, I should know."

Weiss pulled out her handkerchief and wiped away some of the tear streaks. "I don't think anyone, you included, have had as much fun these days as you did in the woods." Weiss smiled at Ruby hoping to inspire more confidence. "And it's such a shame since I was planning start joining in more often."

"Just be yourself, okay Ruby?" Weiss' expression turned sharp to emphasize her next point.

"…okay…" came the quiet mumble.

Weiss smiled as she looked over both of them to make sure they were ready to head back inside. Her jacket was a bit tear-stained, but nothing noticeable. Ruby had puffy red eyes, but those should go away soon enough.

As they headed back, a thought came to Weiss.

"Hey Ruby? You mentioned a voice telling you to chase Velvet?"

"Yeah," Ruby didn't really want to think about it, but the voice told her to chase the rabbit Faunus… and she felt good doing it.

"What about the other times? Like… with me?"

"Err… I don't know… I think," Ruby tilted her head as she tried to remember. "Wait…huh?" Ruby's eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks.

"Ruby?"

"I…no…. but…it… didn't?" Ruby's hand covered her mouth as she stared at Weiss in terror. "It didn't… so… _I _… hurt you…"

Ruby remembered. At that point, she had already snapped out of it. She wasn't hearing the voice anymore. She just wanted to run away from everything. And in so doing… _she_ nearly blinded Weiss, not the voice...

Ruby quickly turned tail and ran, disappearing in a gust of wind.

"Ruby!" Weiss shouted, but was too late. Weiss cursed herself mentally. _Idiot! One step forward and two steps back. You shouldn't have been so curious._

Weiss shook herself out of that thought process. Regardless, what happened had happened, and she'll have to deal with it now. She could only hope that what they had talked about earlier at least made a bit of an improvement on Ruby.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

_Where am I?..._

Ruby awoke to a dark place. There were no walls, no floor, no ceiling. Just blackness, stretching and eternal.

"H-hello?"

She couldn't see much, not that there was anything to see. Still she found she could move. The blackness rippled slightly as though invisible shadows danced on nonexistent walls.

But as she moved forward, a chill gripped her heart. She heard a faint growl, a snarl. Something inside her told her not to go near it. That she would not like it.

But it was futile. Whatever it was, it kept drawing her forward. Deeper and deeper into the dark.

Eventually she saw a small figure, and her eyes widened as she struggled to scream.

Before her was herself. Thin, almost starving, with hungry eyes. She wasn't wearing anything, not even her beloved red cloak, and cuts and bruises marred every inch of her dirtied skin. Hair long and uncut shadowed most of her face, only showing one steely eye and mouth of blood drenched fangs.

She crouched low, and snarled again. In a flash, Ruby found herself lying on her back, her fangs were pressed against her neck. She tried to scream, but she couldn't feel her throat anymore. Instead, she felt red pain… and heard a howl.

As her vision dimmed into a blurry dirty red, she saw a vague shape in the distance. A red stained figure with a ponytail… lay unmoving where she had been standing.

Ruby awoke with a start, nearly crying out but biting back. Her breaths came in shallow pants as she shivered, remembering the nightmare all too vividly. She looked around the room, sensing her friends and hearing their breathing and heartbeats.

She shivered again and tried to wrap the blanket around her body tighter. Sleep would not come easy to her this night.

* * *

><p><strong>Thus another chapter. <strong>

**Weiss' character is so hard to do. It doesn't help that the source material is all over the board regarding her. Hope I managed to make her somewhat awkward and standoffish, but also caring deep down inside. Tell me what you think.**


	9. Spar

**A question was posed last chapter about what caused Ruby to run.**

**Weiss was asking Ruby about the voice, since Ruby already told Weiss that the voice told her to chase Velvet, Weiss wanted to know what the voice said, if anything, when Ruby almost blinded her. Ruby thought back, but realized at that point she wasn't hearing to the voice anymore. What she did, she did of her own volition. The realization made her freak out and run away for some "Ruby alone time".**

**Apologies if this wasn't clear. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Spar<p>

Despite Weiss' mistake, Ruby seemed to bounce back quite handily. Ruby had avoided everyone for a whole day afterwards, but was all smiles and laughter once again when they met up. Weiss didn't believe the facade for a second, but for now, she let it be.

Ruby may be good at hiding what she is thinking, or so she likes to think. Play up the laughter and smiles enough and even sobs and tears can passed off having too much fun. But Weiss could tell. When everyone else went to sleep, she can hear the other girl tossing and turning in her bed.

Weiss felt she understood where the issue laid. Ruby was worried of hurting those around her, especially since her more destructive tendencies have started to manifest.

The trick then was to get Ruby to understand that her friends were not as weak as she thought they were.

A few days later, Weiss received her opportunity during Glynda's combat training class. The moment Glynda asked for a volunteer, Weiss' hand shot up.

"Very well, Ms. Schnee," Glynda called her up as she started to input Weiss' data into the computer. "Who would you like to face?"

Weiss casted her eyes around the room as if to decide who to choose. Truthfully, her decision was made beforehand. "Ruby," her voice rang out to the shock of the class.

"Unorthodox," Glynda commented, but proceeded to call Ruby to the front of the class as well.

Ruby nervously shuffled to the front of the class. Every time when someone had to spar, Ruby would shrink in her chair, making herself as small as possible to avoid being called. It had worked… until today.

"Standard rules. All tactics allowed and the match continues until one opponent's aura has been depleted to less than 30 percent," Glynda announced. "Are both sides prepared?"

"Please don't do this, Weiss," Ruby pleaded.

Weiss' face remained impassive. "Sorry Ruby," she turned to face Glynda. "Please commence."

Glynda nodded and the stage was set.

Weiss launched forward with a thrust, an easy predictable move, but she needed to gauge Ruby's thought patterns.

As expected, Ruby backpedaled and placed more distance between them. Undeterred, Weiss summoned a glyph and shot several large shards of ice towards Ruby.

Ruby kept dodging. No matter what attacks Weiss sent, Ruby danced through them with nary a scratch. She kept her distance, as far away from Weiss' rapier as possible, and Weiss' glyphs always had a slight delay between appearing and activating.

But Weiss wasn't without tricks. While Ruby had been dodging her flashy attacks, Weiss subtly placed numerous glyphs all over the arena. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Ruby closely. The moment Ruby's foot touched the ground, the set glyph activated. Ruby only had time to widen her eyes before a large explosion threw up a blazing fireball.

Weiss flicked her rapier, stopping the conflagration and clearing away the smoke. The flames were flashy but not strong enough to hurt Ruby for that short a period of time, but it would be enough to put her on edge and bring out her fighting spirit.

But Ruby wasn't there.

"Please, Weiss!" Ruby cried out again from behind her. Weiss whipped around to see Ruby on the far wall, nails dug into the facade to hold her off the ground in case there was another hidden glyph. Ruby turned to face Glynda. "Please Professor! I don't want to fight Weiss!"

Glynda refused. "You took on the role of a huntress. This is but one of the training required for your role," Glynda explained sternly.

"How can you be a huntress or help your teammates if you can't even fight?" Weiss asked her.

"I don't know! I'll rush in and carry you guys out in that case!"

Weiss sent another explosion at her for the response.

Instead of wiping away the smoke, Weiss dashed forward at Ruby using the smoke as a screen.

Ruby barely dodged a quick strike at her head when Weiss burst through.

"I know you're scared. But you need to realize something," Weiss' eyes flashed angrily. "We are all hunters and huntresses! We are not so weak that you need to worry about hurting us!"

Weiss unleashed a flurry of slashes and ended with a hail of icicles.

Though Ruby dodged them, the cold around the area left a thin layer of frost on her cheek and she could see her breath.

Ruby's eyes panicked and looked around the room, once again settling on Glynda. Weiss smirked. She had already asked Glynda before class to allow her to fight with Ruby. Though the professor was surprised, she could understand Weiss' plan to show Ruby that her friends were not so fragile that Ruby had to be scared of hurting them.

Weiss still planned on winning. With everything she has seen from Ruby, her speed is the only issue. But even that will run out eventually. She just needed to keep her Dust supplies in reserve and slowly tire out the girl. What Weiss really wanted was for Ruby to initiate just one attack. She will then parry and riposte the attempt, proving Ruby's fears unfounded. It was a simple plan, yes, but direct and easy to accomplish.

"The match won't stop then?" Ruby asked once again, already knowing the answer.

"Until one of your aura reaches 30 percent," Glynda answered curtly.

"Okay then," Ruby muttered and balled her fists. "I can't hold back," Weiss heard her whispering.

Weiss smirked.

_Everything is going according to plan. _

_She will rush forward to attack._

_I have defensive glyphs all around me to take the first hit. _

_I just need to react fast enough to counter._

Everything slowed as Ruby reached back with her fist. Her eyes blazing with determination. Weiss felt Ruby's aura flaring and settled into her stance.

CRACK!

Everyone froze.

Ruby's body was sent flying into the wall, crashing and producing multiple cracks. The reading on the screen showed her aura dropping by a chunk.

Ruby struggled to her knees, whimpering and crying in pain as she clutched her jaw. She had just punched herself as hard as she could in the face. She spat out a puddle of blood as she took deep breaths.

Before anyone could move, her aura flared up again, draining itself to heal her. She stood up slowly, bracing herself against the wall for support. She turned away from Weiss to face the wall.

SMASH!

Ruby slammed her head against the wall, a trickle of blood ran from her forehead down.

"Ruby, stop!" Weiss called out and took a step forward.

Ruby reared back and slammed her head again.

Each assault caused her to cry out and chipped another section of her aura. Weiss picked up her pace. This was not part of the plan!

Ruby had slammed her head against the wall five times before Weiss reached her and turned her around. Her eyes were dazed and blood ran from her forehead, nose, and mouth.

"You idiot! What were you thinking?!" Weiss' eyes ran over the younger girl, trying to check how much damage was done.

Grrrrwwwllllll…

Weiss froze as she heard the feral growl.

Something flared within Ruby. But it wasn't her aura…. it was her killing intent.

Weiss quickly pushed Ruby back, right as Ruby's claws took a swipe at her, once again her eyes.

"Ruby!"

Ruby staggered forward, head low and fangs bared.

She disappeared and Weiss saw the world upside down. When she realized she was on her back, she rolled out of the way as Ruby's hand smashed where her head was moments before. Her glyphs had taken the brunt of the blow, but she felt them shatter around her like glass.

She couldn't even attempt to call the match off as Ruby disappeared once again when she rolled to her feet.

A sickening crunch came from her abdomen and she heaved onto the floor. She hadn't seen Ruby attacking her at all! But her body certainly felt it. Her arms and legs burned, she saw numerous small incisions on her limbs. In the span of an instant, Ruby not only knocked the wind and breakfast out of her, but also left smaller wounds everywhere else her claws could reach.

Her head suddenly snapped back as she received another blow to the chin. Her body screamed in pain as she landed several feet backwards.

Wincing her eyes open, her heart stopped as she stared into Ruby's bloodied face. Contorted with pain and anger, Ruby growled dangerously at Weiss. She had both of Weiss' arms pinned down, and her rapier was knocked away. Ruby's head reared back, ready to deliver the finishing bite.

Weiss immediately kicked Ruby hard in the gut.

This forced the girl off of her, and she quickly rolled away, grabbing her rapier.

"Enough!" Glynda called out, noticing that Ruby's aura has dropped below a quarter.

Weiss clenched her rapier harder. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. But more than that… she couldn't shake the danger.

Ruby staggered up with another snarl. Her eyes have not lost their luster and another chill filled Weiss.

Weiss threw up a glyph in front of her and one below her: the first to block Ruby and the second to launch herself away.

Ruby tore through the first glyph like it was not even there and Weiss barely managed to escape her claws.

"That is enough, Ms. Rose!" Glynda shouted again. She whipped her crop, casting several layers of stopping glyphs between Ruby and Weiss.

Weiss almost breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Ruby's trajectory was mere centimeters from the glyphs.

Her eyes widen in shock as Ruby easily navigated through the maze of traps, weaving in and out without slowing down the slightest.

_She's still getting faster?!_

Weiss felt her back on fire.

_She got behind me?!_

Weiss spun around, but doesn't stop and continued until she went a full 360 degrees. Ruby tended to keep to her opponent's blind spots, which meant she will try to attack from behind again when the opponent turns around.

Her sword flashed forward, knowing Ruby would try that tactic, and saw a flutter of red as her body and head finished the spin.

The world seemed to slow down and her eyes widened in fear.

Her sword was right beside Ruby's neck. But only for a moment. In the next, Ruby was gone. Her body tensed, readying for the oncoming blow.

Once again she was on her back, and Ruby above her. Ruby wasted no time and drew back her claws and slashed forward.

The last thing Weiss saw were bloodied claws heading toward her eyes.

…

…

Weiss felt something wet dripping onto her cheek. Warily opening one eye, she saw Ruby biting her own arm.

Ruby's eyes glared hatefully down at Weiss, while her teeth tore at her own flesh.

"R-run…!" Ruby gritted out.

The flesh on her arm gave way and the claw continued on its trajectory, straight at Weiss.

A glyph appeared around Ruby's neck and jerked her across the arena.

"Are you okay, Ms. Schnee?" Glynda asked. Her calm voice betrayed her demeanor, she was grimacing at the scene before her.

"R-RUN!" Ruby shouted as she rushed at them.

Ignoring Glynda completely, Ruby's arm extended to gouge Weiss.

Four glyphs instantiated around Ruby's arm, locking it in place. Glynda pushed her glasses up and narrowed her eyes at Ruby.

"That is quite enough, Ms. Rose! Cease this at once!"

Ruby struggled futilely against the glyphs. Her face still enraged and her body straining to reach her prey.

Everyone winced as they heard a crunch from Ruby's arm. She broke it trying to fight against the glyphs, and yet she paid it no mind. She continued to struggle, tearing her arm more and more. Only one thing mattered. Hunt the prey. Kill the prey.

"Professor, you have to stop her!" Weiss shouted.

Glynda nodded. With another wave of her crop, she summoned a small windstorm around Ruby. Ruby paid it no mind and continued to thrash. Weiss looked at her teacher confusedly, but Glynda held her gaze.

Slowly, Ruby's movements became more sluggish. Her pants came deeper, as if desperate for air.

_She's taking away her oxygen!_ Weiss realized.

A few more seconds and Ruby passed out. Glynda dispelled the glyphs around Ruby's arm and quickly called the infirmary.

Weiss struggled to remain standing. In that fight, Ruby had completely overwhelmed her. That was her last coherent thought as she collapsed to the floor.

* * *

><p>Beep - Beep….<p>

Weiss stared at the ceiling as she listened to the heart monitor next to her.

Beep - Beep….

It was absolutely unnecessary and the incessant beeping was slowly driving her insane. The doctor had already explained the extent of her injuries, and no where on there was anything that required a heart monitor. At least the I.V. drip was less noisy, though just as unnecessary. Ruby's attack may have emptied her stomach, but she did not lose enough blood to warrant such treatment. Well, at least she got out of having to eat infirmary food.

Weiss pressed a button to shift herself into a sitting position and leafed over the diagnosis again. Numerous incisions on her limbs, two cracked ribs, slight concussion, minor blood loss, and aura depletion.

She won the fight against Ruby. Glynda told her that as the good news. While Ruby's aura was depleted to almost nothing, Weiss still had slightly over 38 percent. The majority of the aura loss resulted from her casting too many glyphs and trying to replenish her energy along with Ruby's assault in the last moments.

Weiss frowned as she went over the battle again in her head. Ruby had been far faster than she expected. Fast enough to evade glyphs instantiated right in front of her and weave through them. In fact, Weiss was fairly certain Glynda had placed at least four more sets of glyphs around Ruby's arm at the last minute to trap her in case she changed directions.

She shook her head to clear those thoughts and immediately regretted it as a head-rush and headache quickly followed.

Thinking of Ruby, Glynda had also handed the doctor's report on Ruby's condition and Weiss felt the color draining from her face as she read it. Numerous fractures and at least two breaks in her upper and lower arm, moderate-heavy multiple concussions, broken nose, broken jaw, fractured fingers, bite wounds, heavy blood loss, slight burns and frostnip, asphyxia, and dangerous levels of aura depletion.

Though Ruby was on the offensive for the latter part of the match, she clearly suffered more injuries than Weiss. Weiss sighed as she tried to relax and let her aura complete the healing process. She still had ample reserves so by tomorrow she will be fit for classes again. Ruby though…

Weiss closed her eyes and tried to sleep. But her thoughts and dreams kept turning back to the girl in red.

* * *

><p>Weiss woke with a start as she heard a rustle. The moon was already shining into the infirmary, giving just enough light for her to make out the bundle of red by her bedside.<p>

"Ruby?"

The bundle stirred and Ruby looked up at her with teary eyes. She had been sitting by Weiss' bedside with her hood up and fell asleep. Ruby reached out as if to touch Weiss, but recoiled when her hand strayed near a claw mark.

"Y-you got hurt again," Ruby wailed.

"What are you doing here?" Weiss hissed. "You should be in bed!"

"I wanted to see if you were okay," Ruby sniffled. "This is why I didn't want to fight you!"

Weiss took a breath. She could deal with this. The plan will work.

"You know I won right?"

"You did?" Ruby's ears perked up and her expression stopped being sad. She looked excited and a little happy for Weiss.

"Yes, by a large margin actually," Weiss put a little white lie in her statement. "You didn't even deplete my aura to below the required percent." A margin yes, just not a large one and certainly lower than what she expected.

Ruby's eyes widened at the revelation. "B-but you got hurt and-"

"And I am fine," Weiss huffed. "Like I said, we are all hunters and huntresses. We can take a little bit of pain." She pointed at Ruby. "So you can stop worrying about us, okay?"

Ruby blushed and looked away from her finger.

"Weren't you… aren't you scared of me?" Ruby mumbled sadly.

Weiss paused as she thought over her answer. She sighed as she spoke truthfully, "I was terrified of you, Ruby. Even though I won, I certainly didn't feel like I did during our fight. It felt like death was closing around me… invisible… unrelenting…"

She took a shuddering breath. "But you're still my partner, so I couldn't give up on you halfway." She smirked a bit before reaching over and ruffling the girl's hair slightly. "Besides, you look adorable rather than scary right now."

"You're really strong Weiss," Ruby murmurs. She took another look at Weiss, taking in the minor wounds left. "So you're not really hurt?"

"Hmph! I will be attending classes tomorrow," Weiss stated with pride. "A few small scratches at best. Nothing that would even bruise or scar."

"Wooow…" Ruby gave her a gaze of wonder and amazement.

Weiss blushed at the unintended flattery from the younger girl. Beneath that blush though, was a deep sensation of guilt.

"I'm the one who should say sorry, Ruby."

"Why?" Ruby tilted her head in confusion.

"Because I forced you into that fight. Everything that happened was because of me."

"Oh… well, you had a good reason right? You wanted to show me that you and everyone else is strong, right?"

"Well… yes."

Ruby grinned. "So it's okay!"

"How can you forgive me so easily?"

"You were just trying to help. And that's what friends do. They help each other, even when the other doesn't understand it at first."

Weiss folded her arms across her chest. Leaving everything like this felt off to her. Ruby is starting to overcome her issues. Weiss got a better understanding of her partner's skill in combat. So why did something feel wrong?

Ruby must have noticed the expression she was making. "Hey Weiss, do you know of the three sorries?"

Weiss shook her head.

"Yang told me that if you feel sorry, then you should say sorry, and then show you're sorry."

_Oh, so that's what that was._

Weiss kept her frown. "Hmm… show I'm sorry, huh… how?"

Ruby started fidgeting. "C-could you hold out your hand for me?"

Weiss raised her eyebrow, but held out her hand.

Ruby leaned forward and started to nuzzle Weiss' hand.

Weiss stared at her strangely, but started to blush when she heard little moans and other contented noises coming from Ruby.

She quickly pulled away and tried to change the subject. "Why are you even here? You should be in bed considering your injuries."

Ruby pouted as Weiss' hand was withdrawn. "I'm fine, see?" Ruby stood up and twirled around so Weiss could see her. Not a single scratch or bruise anywhere. According to Ruby, she was as fit as she was yesterday.

Weiss could only gape at her.

…

…

"…how?"

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

"Wait, wait, wait. You are totally fine? And not like writhing in pain or anything?" Jaune asked skeptically the next day.

"Hale and hearty!" chirped Ruby.

"Do you even know what that means?" Blake asked from across the table, to which Ruby shook her head.

"I read it in a book, but I thought it sounded nice."

"It means you're healthy," Pyrrha added helpfully. "Though I'm glad, I am also quite shocked."

"Yeah, Snow Queen here did a number on you before you were carried out," Yang glared slightly at Weiss. She couldn't hold a grudge against Weiss though, as Ruby was fine and they were both huntresses. Still, she did not approve of how badly Ruby looked when the medics carted her out.

"Really? After I woke up, the doctors said a lot of complicated things that I didn't really understand," Ruby shrugged. "Besides, I was fine by then."

"You were fine?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, my hands were really tied up though, so I had to bite through the bandages."

"That couldn't have been more than a few hours," Weiss muttered.

Ruby nervously glanced at her friends as they gave her looks of varying expressions.

Yang just laughed and grinned at Weiss, always ready to break the tension. "So Weiss, I heard they put you on the I.V. yesterday, but it was all… in vein, hahaha!" Everyone groaned, though a few got a laugh or chuckle.

* * *

><p><strong>So who really won? Leave a comment on what you think.<strong>

**If you guys can, I would really love to hear back from you guys. Suggestions, what you liked, what you didn't like, even questions since they all means my words are making you think; to me, there is no better reaction than stimulating the minds of my readers.**

**Ah~ not sure how I did on the action scene. It certainly requires a different thought process, especially when you have to choreograph it yourself. Well, practice makes perfect and any tips you guys have will be welcomed.**

**See you next chapter. It'll be fluffy.  
><strong>


	10. Books

**The past few chapters have been pretty... dramatic?**

**Well, I promised some fluffy fun times, fluffy fun times it is.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Books<p>

Several days passed before Ruby worked up the courage to ask Blake to the library again. Their last session ended on a sour note for both parties, but Ruby was determined to make things right again.

So there they sat, at their usual table. Silent and serene, deep in their own books but not reading a single word.

"Blake/Ruby," both said at the same time and froze.

Blake took a breath and steeled herself. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened last time."

Ruby's eyes widened. "No no, you don't have to say sorry." Ruby looked down and frowned. "You were right. I should have listened to you. I'm sor-"

Blake held up her hand to stop Ruby. "You already said sorry to me," Blake countered. A smile returned to her face as she reminisced. "And you already got me a really beautiful card, so now it's my turn."

Her serious expression returned and Ruby sat up straighter. "I was out of line for trying to tell you what you should do. I am very sorry for that. I still think it is best not to act like that, but that's only my advice."

Ruby let out a breath. "It's okay Blake. You were right. I talked it over with Weiss, and I can see why you said that. I shouldn't have been listening to the voice… even if it seemed like fun."

"Voice?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, it's like a voice that tells me what to do or how to play." Her face quickly turned dour. "But it also made me scare Velvet and…"

"And what?"

"And I almost hurt Weiss," Ruby said sadly. She shook her head to snap out of it. "But Weiss is okay, because she's really strong!" She looked up and smiled brightly at Blake. "She said everyone is!"

Blake stayed silent and just looked at her. "But…?"

Ruby's smile faltered for a moment and she looked away. "But I'm still scared. Even by accident, even in class… I don't want to fight my friends."

"It's okay to feel scared," Blake comforted her. "And if you don't want to listen to the voice, you don't shouldn't. If you ever feel scared, talk to me, okay?"

Ruby nodded slowly.

Blake thought for a moment. "You were right in class, Ruby."

"Huh?"

"About not having to fight. I don't think you have to if you don't want to. There are plenty of roles on a team: front-line fighter, sniper, artillery, recon, decoy, medic. The list goes on and you're never set in one role."

Blake reached over and grasped Ruby's hand in comfort. "I know you'll always do the best you can no matter what role you're in, because you always want to help everyone around you no matter what it is you are doing, because that's just who you are."

Ruby smiled and teared up at her friend's sincerity. She pulled out of Blake's grip and quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Thanks Blake," she whispered.

They were about to go back to reading, when Ruby asked, "What book are you reading?"

Blake looked down at her book. "It's a story about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body…"

While Ruby tilted her head, thinking about what the story is about, Blake had a spark of inspiration. "Tell you what, I'll lend you this book."

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Are you sure? Aren't you reading it?"

"It's no big deal. I have plenty to go through." She slid the book to Ruby.

"Thanks!" Ruby exclaimed, eager to get her hands on a new book.

Blake could only smile at the child before her, so engrossed in the reading. She sighed. Yes, the past few days have been rough, and Ruby's light dimmed, but looking at her now? She was like a star, glimmering in the shadows.

* * *

><p>They read deep into the night, but Ruby and Blake both suddenly froze. Their ears tensed and twitched as they heard stifled giggles. A boy and a girl. This late at night?<p>

Ruby immediately stood to find out who else was in the library; Blake reached out to stop her, but missed the red cape by mere centimeters.

_I can't let Ruby get corrupted like this! _

There are very few reasons why a guy and a girl would be giggling this late at night in an empty library. Reasons that Ruby had no right of knowing at such a tender age.

Blake quickly jumped over the table, but Ruby had already sped off. She bit back a curse and took to the top of the shelves. She heard Ruby's footsteps and followed, dreading she will be too late.

By the time she caught up to Ruby, the younger girl was pressed against one of the shelves, waiting to peer out and see the night's secrets.

Blake reached out to stop her, but Ruby had already turned. Blake felt Ruby tensing under her hand, and she peered out as well to try and explain whatever wrongness Ruby's innocent eyes have beheld.

She froze.

Her shock and worry evaporated from her seething anger. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!"

"GAHHH!"

Jaune and Nora froze.

They knew they were caught. Their faces flushed with surprise, guilt, and maybe even a bit of shame. Like naughty children with a cookie jar and the crumbs of evidence laying in plain sight.

Littered around them were books. Comic books.

"Ahem, they are mangas," Nora corrected.

Ruby danced around the mess, 'oohing' and 'ahhing' at the covers.

"You can read them if you want," Jaune said, going back to his book.

Ruby flipped on open but looked at it in awe. She turned to Blake. "Blake! Blake! There are pictures! Lots and lots of pictures!"

"Yes, instead of words, these books tell a story through pictures. It is an… interesting vehicle of storytelling," Blake answered. While she held nothing against comic books or mangas, she preferred pure text. No artist will ever capture the vividness of her imagination.

"Pshhh," Nora scoffed. "Don't you know? A picture is worth a thousand words. And some can be told in only pictures."

Blake narrowed her eyes. Clearly she and Nora stood on different ends of the narrative field. Still, that was nothing compared to the sparkles in Ruby's eyes as she opened up a book and tried to read.

"Huh? Is it supposed to be backwards?" Ruby looked at it confusedly.

"For comic books, you read the panels left to right from top to bottom. Mangas are read right to left from top to bottom. It takes a while to get used to, but it's really fun. Here, let me show you," Jaune helped her.

"So what are you two even doing here?" Blake asked.

"We always come here to read on free nights," Nora casually answered.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"What? Why are you here then?" Jaune asked back.

"… We always come here to read on free nights…"

"Isn't that what she just said?" Jaune sighed.

"Hey, hey Jaune, can you help me pick a few to read?" Ruby bounced over to him and pleaded.

He grinned. "Sure! Now mangas work really well for action scenes so here are a few that I think you'll really like!"

Blake found herself smiling again as she saw Ruby running around and flipping through pages with a silly grin on her face like a kid in a candy store. Her hope was renewed once again that Ruby is moving past her issues, and her heart gladdened.

* * *

><p>Ruby found herself surrounded by darkness again. She felt the cold ripping away what little feeling she had in her fingers and toes. She knew what lay ahead, shrouded by the shadows.<p>

Herself.

She took slow and steady steps forward until she confronted her savage side. She stared back at her, still as wild and torn as always. Fresh blood seemed to always be dripping from her mouth and hands.

Ruby had feared this image of her. So violent. So cruel. In her numerous dreams, she would always die by her own claws and fangs, and would see yet another friend fallen. Weiss. Blake. Yang. Velvet. Jaune…

But not tonight.

She lunged with claws outstretched and fangs bared. But Ruby just stood still.

"I'm sorry," Ruby muttered, staring straight ahead unflinchingly.

The claws stopped a millimeter above her head.

"You've helped me out a lot… and it was even fun playing together."

She struggled. Chains, wrought and artificial, bounded her limbs.

"But I can't let you hurt anyone anymore… I can't let myself hurt anyone anymore…"

Several links snaked around her neck and forced her down. No matter how she struggled, she could not shake the collar.

"I'm sorry… but I'm not going to listen to you anymore."

The final piece… a muzzle.

She thrashed around as Ruby placed it around her mouth. She snarled and growled, but Ruby continued without fail.

"I'm not coming back… I'm sorry…."

…

…

For the first time in days, Ruby slept peacefully. There was no need to listen to the voice anymore… not when she had friends she could listen to.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

In a library, certain rules must be followed.

1. Do not interrupt someone's reading.

2. Return books before they are due.

3. Try to maintain order and system in the library.

The librarian sighed deeply. He loved books. He loved reading. He loved the library. He always did his best to follow those simple rules to make everyone happy.

And then that accursed white banshee forced him to break all three in a matter of minutes.

The passing days were the worse in his life. Never before had he felt so useless.

He felt cold. Desolate. Detached from the world. He had failed in his duties as a librarian. Books lay scattered around him, dropped during his mad rush. Order and system… were broken.

…

But then _she_ stepped in. A shining light that helped him up.

"Are you okay, mister?" her childlike voice called out.

He had despondently shook his head and wish she would move on. Leave him to his misery.

Instead, she knelt down and started to pick up the books.

Life slowly returned to his eyes as he saw her struggling to place the books.

"Do you even know the system?" his voice croaked.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she blushed cutely and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm still not very good at reading." She smiled brightly at him. "But my friend's helping me learn!"

He found himself smiling in return. "There is no greater endeavor, the the furthering of one's knowledge."

"Wow! I totally don't understand what that means, but it sounds cool," her eyes sparkled. She turned and looked at the books on the ground. "Do you need help?"

And so they spent the day organizing the shelves and placing books where they belong. The girl did not know the system at all, making more of a mess than actually helping, but her cheerful demeanor more than made up for her lack of order.

They had talked and he was surprised to learn that she was training to be a huntress, and at such a young age!

After sliding the last book to its rightful place, he turned to look at her. "You know, being a huntress is really dangerous. You could always become a librarian here."

"Thanks," she smiled. "But I already made a promise to my partner," and took off without another word, leaving the library silent and solemn once again.

He smiled wistfully and whispered, "Your partner is very lucky… and very blessed to have you, Ruby."

* * *

><p><strong>So it seems most people consider Ruby the victor of the last match. Interesting...intriguing even...<strong>

**I would love nothing more than to try and justify Weiss and Glynda... but here is neither the time nor the place. Hopefully my later chapters will do that, but for now, I leave you with this: "Tough love".**

**Thanks for letting me know what you think guys. As always, if you noticed something you like or didn't like feel free to tell me.**

**Also... facing the Inner Wolf. Wait, wasn't that a bit too simple? Didn't happen here as you expected but...  
><strong>

**...**

**On another note, since the last episode of RWBY volume 2 is set to air this Thursday and it happens to be the day before Halloween, I'm going to be writing a special one-shot just for the occasion, still featuring wolf-Ruby. Hope to see you there as well.**


	11. Training

**Sigh~ these chapters are taking a while and I don't know why.**

**Oh well, hopefully it's a phase I'll get through.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Training<p>

Velvet stretched as she finished her morning run. Her head always felt clearer on crisp mornings and the quietness was always welcomed.

Hup… hup… hup…

Her head swiveled as she narrowed in on the strange sounds. They were coming from the courtyard, sounding as if someone was hopping around.

She cautiously sneaked over to some bushes and peered through.

Ruby, bare-footed, was hopping around the courtyard with determination in her eyes. Several books were stacked on the nearby benches, comic books if she was not mistaken.

Ruby paused and sniffed the air. Velvet sighed and stood, knowing that Ruby had already sensed her.

"Velvet!" Ruby happily cried as she saw her.

"Good morning, Ruby," Velvet greeted with a smile. "What are you doing here this early?"

"Oh? You saw?" Ruby glanced around embarrassed. "I was practicing."

"Practicing? What were you practicing?"

"You want to see?" Ruby grinned and pulled Velvet to the benches and sat her down.

She took several steps away and gazed ahead. Her body lowered, knees slightly bent.

Ruby took in a breath. "Curl your toes…" she whispered. "Take hold of the power beneath you…"

Velvet watched in fascination as Ruby's eyes narrowed.

"Leave everything behind… and become the fastest in the world…"

Her eyes fully closed, Ruby's presence suddenly became thin.

"…Return to the earth… Grasp the earth, grasp the world…"

Her eyes snapped open.

In flash, she disappeared!

Velvet's eyes widened in shock.

Ruby was indeed the fastest in the world. No one could have face-planted faster than that!

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she rushed over to the Ruby-shaped crater.

"…Oww…" came the pitiful cry.

"What were you thinking?" Velvet chided as she helped Ruby up.

"I was trying to do this," Ruby gingerly rubbed her nose, her eyes welled up with tears. "You can disappear and then reappear somewhere else."

Velvet was confused until Ruby showed her the book that listed the technique. "Instant Movement?" she muttered as she read it. It was, of course, a fictional story, so there was no way Ruby would have been able to perform it.

"Why did you want to learn this in the first place?"

"I thought about it, and I don't want to fight. I want to help Weiss and team RWBY, but I don't like fighting," Ruby answered, her face conflicted. "Blake told me there are a lot of roles to a team, not just fighting."

Velvet smiled. "That's right, Ruby. I don't like fighting either, but I still help out my team where I can. So I understand where you are coming from."

"You do?" Ruby asked, hope lighting up in her eyes.

"But I don't think you need to be faster," Velvet advised. "You're already really fast. I think you should work on defense and build up strength and stamina."

"Why? I'm not going to be fighting right?"

"You never know," Velvet answered sagely. Though she dislike fighting, she has seen more than her fair-share of skirmishes. "Besides, you said you would rush in and pull your friends out of battle if they got hurt right? How can you do that if you don't have the strength to pick them up and run?"

"You're right!" Ruby exclaimed as the realization struck her. "Hey, do you know how I should build up strength and stamina?"

"Err… that's not really my area of expertise. Sorry," Velvet admitted. "But if you go to the gym, I'm sure there are plenty of people who would know more than me."

"Gym. Got it." Ruby grabbed her books and ran off. Velvet heard riding on the wind a faint, "Thank you Velvet!"

* * *

><p>Yang had just set up her punching bag when Ruby barreled through the doors, nearly crashing into a set of a weights.<p>

"Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down there Ruby," Yang called out and stopped Ruby before she could hurt herself.

"Hi Yang!" Ruby said excitedly. "Hey, you're pretty strong, right?"

"I'd like to think so," Yang said with a smirk, folding her arms across her chest in a confident manner.

"Can you teach me?" Ruby pleaded with big puppy eyes.

Yang was slightly taken aback. "Err… not that I mind, but why so suddenly Ruby?"

"Well, you see," Ruby recounted her conversation with Blake and Velvet.

"I see… so you want to build up more strength and stamina right?" Yang grinned. "Well I'll teach you, but I don't hold back, so you're going to have to keep up, got it?"

"Got it!"

"Alright! Let's get pumped! Punch that punching bag as hard as you can!"

Ruby's eyes blazed with determination as she reared back her arm and shot it straight forward.

Fwump.

The punching bag barely swayed back and forth, as if a gentle breeze had come through the window.

"What was that?!" Yang shouted. "Did a fly just pass by or were you even trying?"

Ruby was kneeling on the ground, clutching her sore hand.

"You okay, Rubes?" Yang asked, worried about the inexperienced girl.

"…ow…." came the meek response.

"You were using your bag's normal weight, weren't you?" Ren's soft voice came from behind Yang.

Ren and Pyrrha entered the gym, as they always did in the morning.

"Oh yeah," Yang sheepishly scratched the back of her head. Since she was so used to it, a 150-lb punching bag of packed sand was nothing for her. It probably felt like a brick wall to Ruby.

"Morning Ren, morning Pyrrha," Ruby greeted them softly.

"Why brings you here today? We don't usually see you around the gym," Pyrrha asked.

For the second time, Ruby recounted her story.

"Hmmm," Ren hummed while deep in thought. "While Yang is strong, her physical strength is probably greater than either mine or Pyrrha's, I do not think her style of strength training will be of much help to you."

"And just what do you mean by that, Ren?" Yang asked with narrowed eyes.

"Your style focuses on overwhelming the opponent with power punches, so you tend to focus on strengths that work towards that end. But Ruby might benefit more from core strength training."

"I still do core training," Yang muttered, but conceded that she does tend to focus on power training more.

"Well, I think it's wonderful that you want to learn support, Ruby," Pyrrha exclaimed. "They're important roles that people tend to overlook because they're not 'flashy'."

Ruby grinned. "So will you help?"

"We'll be glad to, right Ren?"

Ren smiled. "Of course."

Yang, Pyrrha, and Ren decided to take turns spotting Ruby as she trained. This allowed them time for their own training as well as having a breather.

True to form, Yang focused on upper body training with push-ups and pull-ups. While Ruby struggled to remain hanging on the bar, let alone perform an actual pull-up, she did understand the importance of having such strength in case she ever needed to pull a teammate up from a cliff.

Pyrrha's set was a bit more rounded, focusing on the abdominal and back muscles along with stretching the thighs. They went through crunches, sit-ups, bridges, and leg presses among others. Each motion caused Ruby's muscles to burn, not being used to such treatment, while Pyrrha did the same exercises alongside her, keeping pace with the girl and offering her kind words of encouragement whenever Ruby looked ready to give up.

Ren decided to forgo teaching her to build up strength.

"I think those two have the majority covered," he explained. "I would like to teach you something else if you are interested."

"What is it? What is it?" Ruby panted happily. The previous exercises had left her winded, but nothing could dampen her bouncing spirit.

"Alright, just do what I do and try to follow as best you can."

Ren proceeded to move in slow but steady steps, raising and lowering his hands. It was almost like a dance. Ruby followed along, not knowing quite what to make of the exercise.

"Um… Ren? Is this really working?" Ruby asked confusedly. In every fight, and even the training exercises she just went through, everything was energetic, she had to work hard to keep up. This? She felt… relaxed?

"A strong body knows to be flexible," Ren answered without pausing his movements. "It is also good to regain your balance after practicing."

Ruby had to admit it felt good to follow along with Ren. The movements were slow, but deliberate. Each action stretched a muscle and because she did not have to strain against her burning limbs, each motion felt relaxed and simple.

"Very good Ruby, just keep at it. Breath steadily and relax your legs. Your head will find its balance."

After several minutes of practicing, Ren eased the motions to a halt. "Very good Ruby. Just remember that these are practices. You need to find what works for you."

"Okay Ren, thanks!" Ruby felt refreshed after that workout, as if energy was freely coursing through her limbs again.

"You ready Ren?" Yang called out as she readied her gauntlets.

"Ready for what?" Ruby asked.

"After a workout, we like to work on live combat," Pyrrha explained.

"Hmm," Ren looked at Ruby in deep thought. "You…might benefit from this as well."

"Umm…" Ruby nervously fidgeted. "I'd rather sit this out." Though she understands that her friends are strong, stronger than her even, she does not want to fight them.

"Not at all. You won't need to attack at all Ruby, just dodge," Ren told her. "In a battle, the enemy will not wait for you to save your friends. You'll need to know how to dodge and evade."

Ruby mulled over the thought. As long as she doesn't have to attack… right?

Her eyes regained a sparkling glint. "Let's do this!"

The group retreated to a training arena, where they were allowed to use live ammunition with impunity. Yang and Pyrrha were worried about hurting her with live rounds, but Ruby grinned confidently and said, "Only if they touch me!"

For this match up, Yang, Ren, and Pyrrha will be facing off against Ruby, as per Ruby's request. The match ends immediately if Ruby touches all three of them once each or if Ruby gets clipped by any bullet or hit. "A bit unfair", Pyrrha disapproved, but agreed with Ruby that she may face even more unfavorable match-ups in the future.

Ruby stood on one side of the arena while her friends stood on the other. She lowered towards the ground and looked at them. She felt something strange in the back of her head… whisperings? A sudden urge of growl slightly...

She shook her head to clear it. The whisperings stopped. She blinked and saw strange lines overlaid on her friends… on their wrists and ankles… and necks.

She blinked and they disappeared.

Readying her gaze, she barely noticed as Pyrrha flipped her sword into a rifle and fired three shots at her. All three shots flew harmlessly to her right as she wove forward.

Pyrrha took aim and compensated for Ruby's speed. She fired one shot and watched as Ruby clipped the bullet by a hair.

"It's over!" Pyrrha called out.

"Uh… not yet," Yang corrected her. Ruby's aura was still full. Had it actually clipped, her aura would have been spent slightly to offset the damage.

"An afterimage?!"

"Yeah, she's already like a blur right now," Yang grinned.

The red streak skated around the room, quickly and steadily dodging their barrage and making its way closer.

Ren open fired, his continuous streams of bullets peppered the ground as he narrowed in on her position.

As Ruby ran forward, she noticed the other stream closing in from the other side. With two guns, Ren can close off his opponent's escape route.

…LiNe_…. eSc_pE... pA_H...  
><em>

She shook her head again as she heard the whisper.

If she jumped, she will not have enough maneuverability in the air and be an easy target for any of them. Instead…

Ruby swerved towards Ren and slid underneath the stream of bullets, following the faint trail she saw on the ground. She rolled forward as Pyrrha let off another shot.

"Heh, run from this!" Yang shouted.

Ruby looked at her and froze.

Yang jumped into the air and reared back her arm. One after another, red bullets fell to the ground like fiery rain, exploding the area around Ruby.

"YANG!" Pyrrha called out in shock.

"What? She escaped Weiss' fireball, this should be nothing," Yang chuckled nervously. They all quickly turned around, expecting to see Ruby on the opposite wall again.

Nothing.

Ruby burst out of the smoke and lunged towards Yang. Lightly touching her elbow, she continued towards Pyrrha before Yang could over come her shock.

All three noticed Ruby by this point.

_It's okay, Pyrrha's weapon is still a rifle right now. She's weaker at close distances._

Ruby reached out with a grin as she saw Pyrrha's eyes widen.

Clang.

Ruby felt the cold metal of Pyrrha's shield.

"I have no weak distances," Pyrrha said playfully. The shield pulled back as the rifle flashed forward. Pyrrha gripped the barrel, swinging the rifle like a bat.

Ruby flipped and timed her kick to strike the stock of the rifle. The combined force sent her flying backwards.

The moment Ruby landed, Pyrrha's rifle was aimed at her again. Ruby smirked and took off.

Only to fall flat on her back.

"We win," Ren's voice called out.

Ruby looked behind her and saw her cloak nailed to the ground by the spike on one of Ren's pistols.

"Aw… I messed up," Ruby pouted.

"You did really good though Ruby," Pyrrha encouraged her happily. "You faced three opponents at once without flinching, not many people can do that."

"But I still lost."

"Of course you did. You didn't think we'd go easy on you, did you?" Yang raised an eyebrow questioningly at her.

"No, no," Ruby sighed. "I just thought… I'd last longer."

Now that the skirmish was over, she felt fatigued. More so than she thought. "I'm… going to wash up," Ruby panted slightly as she made her way towards the showers. Her head was pounding and her eyes ached. She shook her head for the umpteenth time to clear it. She turned back and gave them a grin. "This was really fun! Can we do this again?"

"Sure thing," came three simultaneous answers.

While Ruby happily skipped off to the showers, the three remaining looked at each other.

"Did something feel off to you guys?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, she wasn't going nearly as fast today," Yang muttered.

"She didn't disappear. She left afterimages," Ren murmured with closed eyes as he recounted the battle. "Our eyes could actually keep up with her this time."

"You don't think she was holding back, did you?" Pyrrha worried.

"… I don't…. think so," Ren admitted.

"I agree with Ren. She seemed like she was giving it her all… but…"

Despite their worries, they definitely agreed that Ruby made significant progress. If she kept up with this kind of regimen, she would be nearly untouchable in the coming weeks and, according to Yang's grossly overzealous estimations, be able to carry Weiss and Nora over her shoulders simultaneously without breaking a sweat… if only because Weiss would complain about a sweaty rescue.

While Ren and Pyrrha's projections were not nearly as farfetched, they both agreed that Ruby had plenty of potential to tap into with the right proper training. All throughout breakfast, the group had fun designing training schedules for their little puppy.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

"TADA! Introducing our own Medic Ruby!" Nora exclaimed.

Everyone had varying expressions: Yang and Jaune were excited, Pyrrha didn't know what to say, Weiss looked like she had plenty to say but not enough words to express it, Blake had the words but didn't want to say it, and Ren face-palmed.

Ruby was excited and determined. Strapped to her back was a backpack more than twice as large as she was.

"Ruby has everything we could ever need ever on a mission. Bandages? Check. Pain relievers? Check. Rations and water? Check and double check! You name it, she's got it!"

"You guys actually got tents as well?" Yang asked, shocked at how much they were able to cram in there. "The only thing you're missing is the kitchen sink," she grinned.

"Not from a lack of trying," Ren muttered.

"Any time on the field, just scream 'MEDIC!' and our adorable medic will rush to your rescue!"

"Ready to move out!" Ruby gave a seriously cute salute.

She took one step forward.

And was immediately crushed by the backpack.

"MEDIC!" Nora screamed for help.

* * *

><p><strong>What's a journey in life without a training montageepisode? If this was a shonen manga, this would continue on for another 50 chapters, and I don't think I or anyone can handle that haha...**


	12. Not Me

**Haven't been feeling too well. Sorry.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Not Me<p>

"RUBY ROSE! GET BACK HERE!"

"No way, no way, no way, no way!"

Weiss tore down the hall after her red clad partner; students leapt aside and shouted expletives as the two barreled pass without concern.

How did this all start?

Over the past few days, Weiss had scrutinized Ruby's every action, from her first yawn when she woke up, to her tiny snores when she slept. In all honesty, Weiss was a little afraid at how perverse her actions could be taken. Still, it was all for a good cause, she kept telling herself.

After Ruby announced her new found interest in supporting roles, everyone had offered their full support. When Ruby looked up at her with wide, hopeful eyes searching for approval, Weiss even drew up a nutritional and balanced meal plan.

Weiss had nothing against supporting roles; in fact, she often played the role by covering her allies' weaknesses, buffing them up, or debilitating the opponents. However, Ruby's skill sets contributed little to nothing towards supporting.

Ruby was fast. Stealth and recon would be her primary missions. Her attacks tended to leave bleeding wounds, a natural predator behavior in order to conserve fighting potential and forced the prey to leave a bloody trail. She would excel in blitzkrieg, surprising an opponents with ambushes and wounding them before retreating using her speed and let her teammates follow up.

Despite that, Weiss didn't have the heart to tell the excited girl her opinions. She had promised to be the best partner after all. And what kind of partner would she be if she did not fully backed up Ruby behind her endeavors?

But between her periods of training and classes, Ruby had begun to slow. Everyone noticed, though most attributed it to the intense training course team RWBY and JNPR had concocted. Ruby was up before dawn to run laps around the school and train in the gym, followed by classes where she took a breather but walked with weights attached to her arms and legs courtesy of Yang and Nora, and finished the day by training some more. Weiss was not surprised to find Ruby collapsed two feet from her bed most nights and had helped by tucking the girl in.

Insane training aside, Ruby's studies had also suffered. Though Ruby had always struggled during classes, especially the more intellectually intensive ones, she made up by quickly grasping new concepts and having a voracious appetite for reading. Like her physical speed, her mental calculations have noticeably slowed. It didn't help that her attention became more and more divided, headaches often interrupting her thoughts.

While Weiss had agreed to support Ruby, she would not let her partner continue down a path that would only lead to mutual destruction for herself and her team.

So after one particularly slow class where Ruby floundered several weeks behind the required materials, Weiss dragged her to an empty classroom.

Weiss locked the door to ensure no one would interrupt them.

"Ruby, you have to stop this."

"Stop what?" Ruby feigned innocence.

"What you're doing. You train everyday from the crack of dawn to the wee hours of the night. It's affecting you."

"Yeah! In a good way," Ruby puffed out her chest in pride.

"In a bad way," Weiss glared. "You've been slowing down. And not just physically either, mentally as well."

"Err…" Ruby took a step back as if Weiss' words had pushed her. "That is…"

"I'm not saying I'm against your new role, but I do think it is starting to affect you," Weiss closed her eyes as she started to lecture Ruby. "First, my justifications against your previous role…"

She opened her eyes as she heard clacking sounds.

Ruby had rushed over to the door and started to unlock it.

"Wha-! Ruby!"

Thus the chase began.

"Why are you running?!"

"You're going to try and stop me from supporting!"

"No I won't…. probably."

"Wahhh!" Ruby cried out. "I knew it! You're going… to trick me.. into fighting you again... or something!" she shouted between breaths.

Weiss' eye twitched. Was that really how Ruby viewed her?

"I promise I won't do something like that again. I just want to talk to you."

"… You… promise?" Ruby asked while breathing heavily and glancing back at Weiss.

"Yes. I promi- LOOK OUT!"

Ruby turned around to see the stairwell right in front of her. Her mind froze. It hurt. She felt tugged in two directions.

_Jump down the stairs. Jump to the side._

"RUBY!"

* * *

><p>"Dolt…" Weiss grumbled as she retrieved a drink from the vending machine.<p>

The scene played back in her mind yet again.

At the last moment, Ruby looked like she hesitated. Her eyes were wide as she tumbled all the way down, smashing her head against the wall.

"RUBY!" she screamed as she jumped down the stairs. Careful not to disturb Ruby's head in case she had a concussion, Weiss checked for any other injuries. Aside from a cut lip and a few swollen areas, Ruby did not show any other external injuries. Weiss took out a few handkerchiefs and chilled them with some ice dust to help with the swelling. She also called the infirmary since she was unsure if Ruby might have suffered brain damage.

Seeing the girl under white sheets as the nurse lectured her on running in the halls made Weiss uncomfortable with a twinge of guilt and worry. She barely heard anything as the nurse ushered her out to leave Ruby in peace.

Proper cold compresses on Ruby's bruises and a gauze to stem the bleeding on her lip ingrained in Weiss' mind as she sipped her drink.

_If only I hadn't chased her…_

Weiss' eyes narrowed. If Ruby had been at full speed, Weiss wouldn't have been able to chase her in the first place. She had noticed that Ruby started moving slower when the speedster left behind after images and a red blur instead of nearly teleporting. In the chase a few moments ago… Weiss was certain she would have caught up to Ruby had they a few more minutes.

Why? That's the million Lien question.

Weiss thought back to recent events, starting with her conversation to convince Ruby that they were not weak. Ruby had mentioned a whisper… another self? Weiss had thought Ruby was talking about her wolf instincts, but what if it had been more? What if it had been literal?

Ruby had seemingly progressed pass that issue, though she hesitated in all forms of combat until she started training in support roles. Did something happen in that time?

As she opened the door to the infirmary, she heard muttering.

"… heal…. come on…. heal…" Ruby's voice was tinged with desperation and urgency.

"Ruby?"

Ruby's head whipped around to face Weiss as her hands covered her mouth. Weiss questioned why for a moment before she saw the remnants of a piece of gauze and specks of blood on the pristine white bedsheets.

"You took it off?"

Ruby guiltily nodded.

Weiss walked over to a cabinet and searched for a jar of petroleum jelly.

"Remove your hands Ruby."

Ruby shook her head, eyes wide and frightened.

Weiss sighed. "Come on Ruby. This will help."

Still adamantly no.

Fed up with Ruby's lack of cooperation, Weiss grabbed her wrists and forcibly wrestled the younger girl flat onto her back. Arms pinned above her, Ruby tearfully gazed up at Weiss, her lip slightly bleeding. Trembling, she whimpered softly.

"Doesn't even look that bad," Weiss muttered. Ruby's arms relaxed and Weiss let her go. "Will you hold still now?"

Ruby nodded.

"This may sting a little," Weiss said as she dabbed a small amount of petroleum jelly on her finger. "It'll help seal the moisture in your lips to keep them from cracking and keep out any potential infections."

As she applied the ointment on Ruby's soft lips, Ruby flinched causing her to smear some onto Ruby's nose.

"Ruby!"

Ruby 'eeped' and ducked under the covers. Huffing in exasperation, Weiss pulled back the sheet to see Ruby's flushed face.

"What is going on Ruby?" she asked with narrowed eyes. Ruby's behavior recently have been too strange and she was not going to let this stand.

Ruby looked away and muttered something incoherent.

"Ruby," Weiss stated in a flat tone, keeping her gaze leveled.

Once…. twice…. Ruby's eyes flicked back to Weiss and away exactly twice before she gave in.

"…yes?" she asked in a small voice.

"What is going on?" Weiss repeated. "Your wounds normally heal faster than this."

"… I don't… know. This never happened before… any wound I've had… would always heal."

"Most people wouldn't consider that normal," Weiss stated before the two lapsed into silence.

"I don't think you can run away anymore," Weiss said finally. "You have to admit that you're slowing down."

"But why?!" Ruby nearly shouted. Her breathing came in short pants as nerves and anxiety overtook her.

Weiss placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder to calm her down. "Think back Ruby. What changed? What happened in the past few days?"

"I…I don't know…"

"Hmm… well, the first time you freaked out you said was due to the whispers right? Has anything changed?"

"Oh…." Ruby's eyes dulled and saddened. "I…. uh… tied her up."

"…. …. …. what?"

"I thought… since the whispers made me scare everyone, I should just not listen to it anymore. So I tied her up."

_Her? What did Ruby mean by this? Another sense of self?_ Weiss had her suspicions, but if Ruby saw this as a literal manifestation of another self… she may have Dissociative Identity Disorder.

"Can you tell me a bit more about her?"

"Like how she looks like and stuff? Sure!" Ruby beamed. "She looks kinda like me, only with longer hair… and sharper teeth… and meaner eyes. When I first met her I was like 'What big eyes you have!' and then 'What big teeth you have!' and then 'What big ears… oh wait, those are just tuffs of hair, your ears are still cute though…'"

"What happened next?" Weiss asked, very intrigued at how Ruby interacted with her other self.

"She killed me."

"… … … … " Weiss gaped at Ruby.

"It really hurt, and I was scared of her for a while," Ruby's excited tone died down as she reminisced. "But I didn't have anyone else… so I stayed with her." Ruby smiled again. "She helped me out a whole lot! She's really strong and fast. And she's really smart as well! She knows how find and catch food and she also knows the warmest caves!"

Ruby's eyes clouded over. "Why did she want to hurt everyone? Why did she want to hurt me?"

"What did you do to her?"

"I tied her up… with chains. And I put a muzzle on her so she can't whisper to me any more…" Words heavy with regret, guilt, and sadness.

Weiss grimaced as the realization struck her. The pieces were slowly starting to line up as she understood more and more about Ruby.

But this was neither the time nor place for psychoanalysis. One look at Ruby and Weiss had to physically stop herself from hugging the girl. Ruby was trying futilely to stop the tears and more than few sniffles made their way through.

"I'm not going to say you did nothing wrong," Weiss said sharply. Her eyes narrowed and she steeled her resolve. "Bottling her up is only going to hurt you."

"B-but I can't let her out. I might hurt someone else," Ruby protested, her ears flattening against her head from Weiss' cold tone.

"I am not saying to let her out immediately. Ruby, I don't know if you know this, but she is a part of you, whether you like it or not. And you're going to have to square things with her one day. Better now than never."

"N-no!" Ruby's voice raised. "She's…. she's…. she's not me!"

"She's you."

"NO SHE'S NOT!"

Weiss remained silent.

"She can't be me! I'm me! She wants to hurt people! I don't want to hurt people!" Ruby's eyes flashed dangerously as her lips curled up into a snarl. "DON'T SAY THAT!"

"… and do you want to hurt me now?…"

Ruby hesitated, her hand went to her mouth as she realized she just bared her fangs against her friend... again.

"She. Is. You." Weiss punctuated.

Ruby shut her eyes and buried her face in her hands, shaking her head to deny the accusations. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to choke back sobs.

Warmth enveloped her.

"And that's okay." Weiss hugged Ruby to cool her head down. The hug came easier than the first and Weiss allowed herself to pull the girl even closer. "We all have monsters in us. It's just a matter of how we deal with them."

Weiss was about to let go but she felt small arms encircling her waist, and Ruby tightened the hug. Ruby held on as if Weiss was her life-preserver, and Weiss could not fault her.

_Sometimes the scariest abysses are ones inside us._

They stayed like that in silence. Weiss felt the rapid beats of Ruby's heart near her chest. Ruby's deep and heavy breaths warmed her neck and tickled her ear. Several times Weiss felt Ruby tense up beneath her arms, but at least her crying stopped.

She slowly let go of Ruby, though Ruby held on a bit longer before releasing her as well.

Weiss wracked her brain for an idea. Ruby was still hung up on accidentally hurting or scaring others, even if she's making strides towards it. She needed to focus on something else, especially since it seemed as though this issue have been eating at her for weeks now.

"Tomorrow's a day off," Weiss smiled. "Once you can get out of bed, let's go into Vale. It'll be fun."

Ruby nodded while blushing heavily.

"Then let's get to sleep so we'll be rested for tomorrow, okay?" Weiss couldn't help but tuck Ruby in under the sheets. Ruby quickly buried her head underneath the sheets and curled away from Weiss. "Good night Ruby," she said as she returned to her room, her mind at ease now that she knew a bit more about Ruby's issues.

…

…

Drip. Drip.

Underneath the white sheets, a small puddle of red formed. Ruby bit down on the side of her thumb, drawing blood as her eyes frantically widened. A strange emotion welled within her when she embraced Weiss. No whisperings, just an urgency.

Her mouth was already near Weiss neck. So close… so warm… A desperate need to just lean in… and bite.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

While Weiss was happy that she found out more about what was plaguing Ruby, there were still mysteries that she did not understand. What does Ruby's other self have to do with Ruby's speed? How does Ruby heal so quickly...and why is she unable to now?

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a single red rose petal.

What significance does this play?

Though sorely tempted to research more into the questions, Weiss decided to heed her own advice to Ruby and sleep early.

As she drifted off, the biggest mystery entered her mind: _when did I start caring so much about someone else?_

* * *

><p><strong>So Weiss is finally learning what we all knew.<br>**


	13. Lost

**Wish I knew more about Vale to write about it.**

**Ah well~ just have to try my best.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Lost<p>

A nice quiet morning… utterly ruined by Ruby's incessant chirping. Honestly, no early morning bird has ever given Weiss the headache she felt currently.

"Come on Weiss! You said we're going into Vale tomorrow yesterday and tomorrow is today when today is yesterday."

Weiss does not even bother to try and comprehend what Ruby just said. It was far too early in the morning.

As she trudged her way to the bathroom, she heard Yang call out, "What happened to your hand?"

"Oh this?" Ruby lifted up her bandaged hand. "I bounced out of bed this morning and tripped. The nurse helped cleaned it!"

Yang chuckled while Weiss shook her head exasperatedly.

"Calm down Ruby and get ready," Blake reminded her while getting dressed. "You don't want to forget anything."

"Ooooh! I can't calm down!" Ruby exclaimed. "We're going into the city together! We're going to have soooooo much fun!"

They all shared a laugh together. Weiss had told them of her plans to take Ruby into Vale and they readily agreed to come along.

Throughout the airship ride, Ruby pressed her face against the glass, oohing and ahhing at everything. Wide eyes sparkled as she watch the clouds and ground float by. "Birdie!" she shouted when a small bird flew by; she waved and they swore the bird did a small loop-de-loop just for the excited child.

"Is this your first time on an airship?" Blake asked.

"Nope! Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin brought me to Beacon on this," Ruby answered without looking away from the window. "I don't remember too much, but I didn't get to see this!"

Though saddened when they had to leave the airship, Ruby was still excited at the prospect of exploring the city with her friends and the return trip.

"Alright, I have taken the liberty of drawing up our itinerary," Weiss spoke as she stepped forward to take the lead.

"Where to, Ice Princess?" Yang grinned.

"Don't call me that," Weiss chided softly. "First, we'll enjoy a nice brunch at this cafe I found. We can take in the sights as we walk and if we see anything interesting we can check it out. I left lunch open so if we find someplace nice we can surprise ourselves."

"Everyone's getting ready for the festival, so there should be plenty of people setting up and stuff we can look at," Blake chimed in.

"Lots of people huh? Might meet some students from the other schools as well," Yang noted happily. "Hey Ruby! Hold my hand so you don't get lost," Yang joked.

…

A small tumbleweed rolled pass.

…

"Are you serious?! We haven't even been here five minutes!" Weiss' piercing shriek echoed through the city.

"Calm down, Snow Cone," Yang whipped out her scroll. "We'll just find her using her scroll again. Okay, now according to this, she's back at the dorm. Crisis averted!"

"That means she left it there!"

Blake shook her head at their antics. "Let's split up for now. I'll take this side, Weiss, you take uptown, and Yang, you take downtown."

"First to find Ruby gets treated to dinner by Weiss!" Yang grinned and took off.

"HEY!" Weiss took off after her.

* * *

><p>"Weiss? … Blake? … Yang?" Ruby called out as she shuffled nervously along the street. People turned to look at her for a moment before returning to what they were doing.<p>

Everything here was so different from what she was used to. The first time Glynda ever brought her here was immediately after Ozpin picked her up from her forest home; she was in a daze and barely registered what was happening around her, just following Glynda where she went.

Now she was lost. The cacophony of people, animals, vehicles, and buildings made it impossible for her to pinpoint her team using her hearing. The scents are overpowering with asphalt and concrete, and even the air tasted dirty with smoke and pollutants.

A part of her was excited at the prospect of a new adventure. Exploring the urban jungle, running into dangers most people took for granted, a wonderful learning experience overall. The other more rational part of her had a splitting headache that she couldn't quite get rid of.

"…where are you guys?…" she mumbled sadly.

So distracted, she never noticed the person in front of her and their collision sent both of them sprawling on the ground.

"Ack! I'm so sorry!" Ruby immediately apologized.

"Oh, I am fine," a kind voice replied.

Ruby looked down to see a ginger hair girl with green eyes wearing a tan and green blouse and pink bow.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!" the girl cheerily greeted from her supine position.

"Oh no! Are you okay? Can you get up?" Ruby panicked while looking over the girl for any injuries.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking!" The girl leapt to her feet, showing no worse for the wear. "My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

A wave of relief wash over Ruby that Penny was not injured. "I…I'm…" Her earlier loneliness caught up to her and tears formed at the corners of her eyes. "I'm lost!" she bawled.

For the passersby on the street, it was a strange scene of a girl in red crying her eyes out and a girl in green fumbling about trying to calm her.

"Oh please don't cry," Penny pleaded. Seeing the girl in front of her in tears made Penny feel strange. A tightening constriction in her chest that felt all too uncomfortable. "I'll help you."

"… *sniff*… r-really?"

Penny grinned and gave a salute. "I'm searching ready!"

Ruby looked at her for a moment, barely believing.

Penny suddenly found herself on the ground again with Ruby latched around her midsection, shouting 'thank you, thank you, thank you' repeatedly into her abdomen.

When Ruby finally calmed down, she realized she never introduced herself. "Sorry about earlier," she cleared her throat. "I'm Ruby. I didn't expect to make a new friend today when I came to the city. Actually, I didn't expect to get lost either so-" Ruby rambled.

"What did you just call me?" Penny interrupted inquisitively.

"Huh?"

"You just called me friend! Am I really your friend?" Penny asked with a hopeful voice.

"Of course! You're really nice and you even offered to help me!"

Penny became overjoyed. "Sen-sational!" She grabbed Ruby's wrist and pulled her along excitedly. "Come friend Ruby! Let us find your team!"

"W-wait! Hold up!"

As Ruby soon found out, this was also Penny's first time in Vale. Though this meant the girls were doubly lost, Ruby felt more at ease with a friend and held Penny's hand the entire time.

All around the city, people were setting up decorations for the festival. Balloons, streamers, and stalls of all sorts and colors littered the cityscape. By lunchtime, Ruby was quite famished, but without her scroll, she couldn't afford any food. Luckily, Penny was able to cover the cost and Ruby enjoyed a nice hot dog with everything on it since Penny didn't know what she wanted and ordered everything.

"Thanks Penny," Ruby said gratefully as she took a bite. "What about you though? I feel bad that I'm here eating and you're not," Ruby worried that Penny used up all her money on the hot dog and didn't have enough for her own. "Would you like to share?" She offered.

"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you for considering," Penny smiled.

Ruby frowned slightly, but continued eating. Before long, Ruby finished and grabbed Penny's hand again.

Despite scouring the streets for hours, neither hide nor hair of team WBY was found. Ruby squeezed Penny's hand tighter as she voiced something that had been bothering her for hours.

"Umm… Penny? Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course! What is it Ruby?"

"I-I don't really know how to say this…. and please don't take offense, but you… smell different."

"Hmm?" Penny tilted her head to one side.

Ruby stopped walking and looked seriously at Penny. "Your smell… and even your sounds. They're not like a human's, or Faunus', or animal's, or even Grimm." Ruby bit her lip. "They're… like machines."

Penny froze. "I….Is that what you really think?"

Ruby paused, but slowly nodded. Penny looked down sadly knowing she couldn't fool the wolf girl. "I'm sorry I tried to hide it from you, Ruby. Even after you said you're my friend." She looked up with a resigned look. "You're right. I'm not a real girl. I'm not human. I'm not even alive…. I'm just a machine..."

Penny tried to turn around and walk away from her first friend. She felt a tug on her arm and realized Ruby was still holding her hand. Shaking her hand slightly and trying to free her fingers, she found that Ruby had a surprisingly tight grip.

"Um…Ruby? You can me go, now that you know what I am…," sadness twinged her voice.

Ruby shook her head. If anything, her grip became tighter.

Ruby jerked her arm back, unbalancing the unprepared Penny and catching her in a hug.

"How can I let you go when you look so sad?" Ruby whispered to Penny. "You had fun today right?"

"Y-yes?"

"You laughed today with me, remember?"

"Yeah…"

"And you were sad and scared just now."

"…"

"If those are real, how can you be anything but?" Ruby had a soft smile.

Penny's eyes widened at Ruby's acceptance. "You really mean that?"

"Of course! We're friends!" Ruby reaffirmed.

"Ohhhhh!" Penny reciprocated the hug ten-fold. "You're the absolute best-est Ruby!"

They held the position for a while before the sound of Ruby's stomach interrupted them. They quickly let go and Ruby chuckled, "I guess it's almost dinner time."

"Oh! I just realized!" Penny exclaimed. "If you returned to your dorm, you could call your friends using your scroll."

Ruby just stared at Penny. "Penny…. you're a genius!" Penny smiled and knew what was coming next. She braced herself for another Ruby hug.

The moment Ruby leapt into the air with arms outstretched, a loud explosion rocked them off balance.

"What was that?!" Ruby shouted, looking over the rooftops to see a large column of smoke.

Penny scanned, filtering the spectrum. Dust smoke. Meaning whatever happened had to involve large amounts of Dust. She was about to warn Ruby to look for the authorities when she saw Ruby already running towards the docking area.

"Ruby! Wait!" she called out, but Ruby had a head start and was fast. Even running after her, Penny could tell the distance between them was widening. She could only hope Ruby did not get in trouble once she arrived.

* * *

><p>At least six enemies surrounded her. Not good odds in the slightest. Even worse that they wore the taunting white uniforms of the White Fang.<p>

While searching for Ruby, Blake saw some suspicious activities near the docks. Though worried for her younger leader, she couldn't just stand by and let a crime unfold right under her nose, especially if it involved her old life. Curiosity certainly killed the cat, and she wasn't sure if she had enough lives to get out of this mess.

Still, she had gone too deep and seeing the emblem of the White Fang as they stole Dust and worked with a human torpedoed the last bit of rationality she had.

Quietly sliding up to the strange human that was somehow working with the Faunus, she placed her blade next to his throat.

Why was the White Fang doing this?

Why were they working with this sleazy human?

She asked and didn't get a response. Was it secrecy? Or was it the shame of truth that held their tongues?

Instead, the human, Torchwick if she recalled seeing his face on the wanted posters correctly, said they were working together in a 'joint business venture.' She heard turbines and engines from above and was shocked to see several bullheads preparing to dock.

In her hesitation, Torchwick fired a shot from his cane near her foot, the explosion throwing both of them away from each other.

"Uh…. hello?" he called out to the Faunus around him as if they were brain-dead. "Shoot her!"

Using her shadow clones, she managed to avoid most of the shots, though a few came close to breaking through her Aura. She kept to the shadows, hiding behind the large crates to minimize her exposure. However, she was effectively pinned down and there was not enough time to call for help.

Though protected by the crates to her back, she could not even peek out to return fire. At this rate, they will simply circle around her and pin her down with superior numbers. Her eyes swept the dock, looking for anything that can help her.

Nothing.

She sighed as she looked to the heavens for help… and noticed the suspended shipping containers. More hiding places, and she may be able to split them up. She took careful aim and fired in rapid succession, each shot destroying the central pulley and causing several of the heavy metallic boxes to crash downward with a deafening roar.

Unfortunately, she did not realize one flaw to her plan. The containers held Dust, many of them volatile and had to be separated from the rest of the containers on the ground. The resulting explosion knocked everything back and heavily damaged the area around them. Fire, ice, and lightning lined the dock as one explosion set off another.

Blake found that she and the White Fang now had something else in common: finding shelter from the blowout.

However, commonality will not save her, as she is soon surrounded again by a group of very angry Faunus and one human.

"HEY!" she heard a familiar voice call out from the roof top.

* * *

><p>Ruby hopped from rain gutters to fire escapes before reaching the roofs. She crept over to the edge to see a scene of carnage below.<p>

Blake hid behind containers as strange people advanced around her. Large airships hovered above them like giant Nevermores.

"HEY!" she shouted to get their attention.

"Why hello little Red!" the man below called up congenially to her. "Isn't it pass your bedtime?"

"I still have half an hour!" she argued.

"Ruby?" Penny called out from behind her.

The moment she looked away, she heard the tell-tale bang of a gunshot. Time slowed as she perceived the bullet moving towards her. Linear. Simple dodge.

_LEFTRIGHT_

Headache. Hesitation.

Her eyes slowly widened as the bullet impacted. Her Aura did not even activate to defend against the shot. It exploded on contact and a small ball of fire like the sun slowly grew and engulfed her. The searing heat felt like an eternity as light whited out her vision. Pain. Burning. Weightlessness. How long did it persist?… … .. And then darkness.

…

"RUBY!" Penny screamed.

She watched in horror as Ruby was thrown back and slammed into the opposite rim of the roof. She quickly snuffed out the small embers still on Ruby, but the girl remained unmoving.

A laugh rang out from below.

She peered over the edge to see the man who shot her friend laughing. Her eyes narrowed.

He hurt Ruby. _He_ **hurt** Ruby.

He suffers.

Everyone froze as she landed, cracking the ground and sending a small shockwave across the area. From her back extended several blades.

She barely spared a glance at the nearest armed Faunus. He did not matter. Her blades flew around, smashing into him and sending him flying into his ally. The others finally realized the threat and rushed her.

She did not care.

Easily flipping over them, her blades were a whirlwind, simultaneously deflecting their bullets and throwing them aside.

None of them mattered.

All that mattered was the red headed man in front of her.

His stance indicated his agitated state. Lowered head. Bent knees. Flicking eyes. A fight or flight response. He knew he was outmatched. Good. Her eyes followed his to determine his next path.

But she paused when she saw the black cat Faunus.

"Blake?" she asked.

Torchwick took that chance to flee. Penny almost went after him, but seeing Blake reminded her of something far more important.

"Quickly Blake! Call the hospital! Ruby is in danger!"

Blake snapped out of staring at the girl who just wiped the floor with a small squad of White Fang members. Torchwick had already taken off on one of the airships, trying to follow him now would be futile.

Blake nodded and quickly called the hospital for Ruby and the police station for the unconscious Faunus. She could taste the bile in her mouth at having to betray her former comrades… but it had to be done. No, tonight only reaffirmed her decision to leave.

She jumped up to the roof where Ruby laid, thinking the strange girl would follow her. But when she turned around, she was alone. The strange girl was nowhere in sight.

Making sure that Ruby was breathing, she called Yang and Weiss, informing them of Ruby's situation and promising to explain more when they were in person.

She grimaced as she put away her phone. The day had been horrible. Ruby had gotten lost. They spent the entire day searching. The White Fang had fallen further than she thought. And now the fight.

She looked down at Ruby. Burns marred her skin, but she looked so peaceful sleeping. She allowed a small smile at having found her young leader. Ruby must have been tired and had likely been searching for them all day as well. She deserved her rest.

…

But Ruby didn't wake up the next day…. or the next…. or the day after….

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

"Hello? Ruby?" Yang called out as she ran down the street.

The search was slow, for some reason wearing a glaring red cape did not help as no one apparently saw Ruby.

She noticed a commotion and saw a blonde boy with a tail running. She took after him.

"Hey!" she called out, easily keeping pace.

"Sup!" he grinned back.

"Did you happen to see a girl about this tall wearing a red cloak? She also has the most adorable ears and tail you've ever seen."

He pretended to think for a second. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell, sorry."

"Dang... that's okay, thanks anyways," she was about to slow down and turn a corner, but he called back to her.

"I think I saw a couple of cops back that way," he gestured behind him. "Maybe they saw her or can call their network if anyone else did."

"Awesome!" Yang turned and ran in the opposite direction. She heard the boy chuckling, probably from doing a good deed.

* * *

><p><strong>So that's where Yang's been all day. Caught up with the police. <strong>**  
><strong>

**Man, this whole day has been full of misfortune for team RWBY.**


	14. Forest of Self

**Holy hectopascals! Over a hundred favorites and nearing 200 follows?!**

**Would asking for more reviews be a luxury at this point?**

**Haha, I kid, I kid. Seriously, I love you guys and love what you have to say. Every review motivates me more and more! As thanks and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, there's a little gift for you guys at the end of this chapter. Please enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 14: Forest of Self<p>

"…mmm…." Ruby groggily woke up. Her head swiveled around as she tried to remember what happened.

Bright light. Heat. Pain.

She winced as a flash of pain wracked her body. She looked down but there were no injuries. Not so much as a scratch blemished her skin. Did she just imagine the pain?

That can't be right. She clearly remembered getting shot and her hand was supposed to still have bandages from the night before. She frowned. For some reason, her healing had been taking longer than expected. Back then, waking up from a nap was all it took to heal even the most grievous of wounds.

… wait….back then?….

Trees. Bushes. A forest.

She tilted her head questioningly. They seemed…. familiar. The more she wandered, the more familiar the forest became.

After this tree… there should be a cave…

A large and dark cave loomed ominously. She gulped as she took a step back. She doesn't remember. She doesn't want to remember. No, more accurately, every cell in her body urged her away from the cave.

This cave was the last thing she remembered before being found by Ozpin. The strongest image her mind knows.

She tried to turn away. She tried to break from its invisible grip. But without moving her legs, she felt the ground slide beneath her, drawing her closer and closer to the cavernous maw.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw a most unwelcoming sight just past the first shadows of the cave.

Still chained up was her other self.

"Not again," she murmured.

Ruby turned around and stormed away. Keeping her eyes forward, she refused to look back. She marched through the undergrowth, ignoring the low-laying branches as they whipped back.

Her only goal is to find her way back to Beacon. Back to her friends. She was steadfast. She had to be steadfast.

She tried to ignore the same tree she passed by three times.

She tried to ignore the feeling that she will not escape the forest.

Most of all, she tried to ignore the look on her mirror's face.

She grimaced as she looked up and found she was in front of the cave again. She already knew it. The forest was not a place she can escape from. Now, just as then. The twists and turns, no matter what path she took, will only lead here.

She sucked in a deep breath and edged closer to the cave. A small indent on the ground right at the lip of the cave indicated someone sat there… for a very long time.

"Mmphg!" she clutched her head trying to stop the memories.

_Cold. Cold. PaIN. HuNGeR. No. No. no. no. NO. nO. N!_

SLAP!

Ruby winced as she rubbed her cheek, a red handprint quickly forming and fading.

She looked deeper into the cave at her other self. Did she move further back into the cave?

Small marks lined the chains and cave surfaces. She must have struggled. Ruby can see the drag marks on the ground… the black tendrils on her arms.

Ruby swallowed her fear and took a step towards her prisoner.

A chill ran down her spine. Something reached out for her and squeezed her throat.

She shook off the sensation.

"H-hey," she called out weakly. Ruby did not know her way out of this forest, but _she_ does.

No response.

She stopped right in front of her, looking down at the once powerful creature. Hair matted and muzzled, she looked more pitiful now.

"I know you can hear me." Arms and legs trembled. Whose? Ruby was not so sure.

"I only know this cave and the surrounding forest, but you've been further right?" Ruby stated rather than question. She knew why she could never escape the forest on her own. She wasn't the one who roamed the forest. _She_ was.

She grabbed the chains and started to break them. When her hands couldn't she gripped them with her teeth and gnashed her way through. She cringed as the taste of metal on her tongue wanted for more.

Chains still bound her wrists and tied around her neck like a collar and the muzzle was still firmly clasped. Ruby walked behind her and felt the cold darkness trying to enter.

"Look, I don't like you and you don't like me," she stated.

A beat. A full moment of silence followed.

"Okay, I lied, I still kinda like you even after everything."

She removed the muzzle.

"You protected me back then," Ruby smiled at one of her good memories. "You-"

CRUNCH!

The Wolf whipped around and bit her shoulder before the muzzle even hit the floor. Ruby screamed out and writhed on the ground as the fangs went deeper and deeper.

Blearily working through the pain, Ruby clawed at the Wolf's face with her free arm. The Wolf lurched back, tearing a good section of her arm with her.

The Wolf swallowed the flesh and furiously bit at her bindings. In two snaps of her jaws, the chains broke away.

Coldness seeped into her wounds. Ruby watched in horror as the shadows in the cave snaked out and wrapped around her arm. Sinewy muscles stretched over the bones and new skin knitted over them. Heat. She felt the heat left by the cells as they regrew and reestablished her damaged limb.

GrrrRRRRRrrRRrRR!

The Wolf snarled and advanced. She took a step backwards. Fear took over her mind. Anger. Hatred. A desire to destroy the creature in front of her. A strange force emanated from the depths of the cave. A force that empowered her limbs.

A flash of petals and she was at the entrance, behind the Wolf.

The Wolf turned around and charged.

Ruby wasted no time diving into the undergrowth. Her hand clamped over her mouth to prevent throwing up from the rush of emotions she felt in the cave. Where did they come from?

Knowing she could never outrun her better half, Ruby imagined chains to ensnare her once again. The Wolf ran straight through them. Wherever she touched, they sprang. Yet they were not fast enough to capture her.

Ruby ran and ran. But she knew it was pointless. Once more she stood in front of the cave.

Heavily winded, she faced her untiring foe. While branches and thorns in the undergrowth tore at her dress and cut her skin, the Wolf was uninjured even without any clothing. She knew these hunting grounds well. She was the apex predator.

"Only one way out then," Ruby panted. She closed her eyes and willed the strength within her.

… An urge for blood welled….

Another flurry of petals and the Wolf spun around to find Ruby ducked low in her blind-spot. She lashed out with claws to slash out Ruby's eyes, but Ruby was already gone. A single petal landed on her hand as she felt Ruby's claws raked across her back.

Ruby tried to keep up her assault, but suddenly felt a vice-grip around her wrist. She was yanked forward and claws ran across her body from shoulder to hip, tearing whatever organs or bones in their path.

She jerked her arm away and tried to backpedal, only to feel more slashes on her back.

Crumpling to the floor, she saw the visage of herself. The normally warm and silver eyes flickered in burning cold gold. Blood smeared on her hands and mouth only told the naked truth: she is destruction, she is death.

Ruby closed her eyes from the pain as the Wolf edged nearer. She cannot win. Not against this kind of opponent.

_I can't win…_

Thoughts of everyone flooded her mind. How she will miss them… how… they… … … Weiss… …

The Wolf glared down at the pathetic girl in front of her. She mounted Ruby and readied her fangs for the final blow.

Ruby's foot connected hard with the Wolf and shoved it off. Dark thoughts encroached on her mind as she struggled to stand up. The Wolf looked at her, possibly for the first time, in fear.

Weiss' words drifted back to her.

**_"She's you."_**

"… not me…" Ruby whispered.

Tendrils of darkness snaked from the cave and infused with her limbs.

"…. no me… not me…. YOU'RE NOT ME!"

Ruby lunged forward, mindlessly slashing at the Wolf. If she didn't stop her here, she will hurt more than just Ruby. Weiss. Everyone. They'll all be in danger.

The Wolf easily dodged her claws and retaliated. Each strike gouged chunks of flesh, littering the ground and dyeing the scenery in red.

Ruby did not care. She felt it. The pain. The hate. The anger. The sorrow. The desperation. They consumed her mind and left no room for anything else. She let go of everything else. She became faster.

...

From the dregs of insanity, the Wolf felt her first coherent thought while watching Ruby.

_She will fall with the next strike._

One…. two…

_Her limbs are ribbons. Useless. She has no more blood._

…two hundred.

More than two hundred attacks later, each one lethal and destroyed her body, but Ruby stood firm. Her eyes were not that of an animal resigned to its death.

They were furious. They were murderous.

She should have no more strength. Her speed was nothing compared to the Wolf. Even her movements were unnecessary with the petals.

CLASH!

Their claws met and their hands broke.

_So why are her blows getting heavier?!_

They grit through the pain like mirror images. The Wolf slashed. Up, down, left, right. Attacks from all directions like a cage of death.

...

Ruby forgo attempting to dodge. She no longer understood dodging. There is an enemy.

It. Will. Die.

She felt her body heating up. Acceleration.

The faster her arms and legs moved, the more friction against the air. They burned. Her blood quickened. Each cell in her body quickened.

Faster. FASTER!

Every time her enemy clashed with her, their bones broke. She felt the pieces move underneath her skin. A process that should have taken months to heal occurred in a matter of seconds.

"… too …. slow….."

...

She couldn't hear what the other girl muttered. It doesn't matter.

Her mind was becoming clearer. Thoughts she never knew she had clouded her mind.

Her enemy was in front of her.

A single attack was all she needed.

Her claws flashed, rending the girl's head from her neck.

CLASH!

Blocked!

Instead, claws reached for her own throat!

The girl was just a blur now, even with her innate dynamic vision.

...

Faster! Faster!

Was she speeding up? Or was her enemy slowing down?

Ruby didn't care.

The darkness from the cave seeped into her bones now. Every crevice in her body was filled, every fold of her brain.

Nothing mattered.

Just kill. DesTroY. dEVoUR. DIE DIE DIE DIE!

She blocked the strike at her throat and returned her own attack.

The enemy took a step back.

Big mistake.

Before her enemy's foot touched the ground again, Ruby lunged and sank her fangs into her neck.

The scream turned into a gurgle as blood filled her lungs.

Ruby thrashed around, biting and clawing wherever she could.

For what seemed like hours, perhaps only seconds passed or perhaps days. Ruby relentlessly tormented the carcass. Ruby devoured and consumed. Each bite darkened her mind more, made her more hungry.

_H…ungry…?_

More food… her thoughts turned to… Weiss…

The Wolf drew every remaining ounce of strength and head-butted Ruby in her hesitation.

Ruby staggered backwards while the Wolf's organs started to heal.

Ruby took a step forward before collapsing on the ground, her own injuries and fatigue catching up. A stalemate. Both sides froze as neither could move.

Ruby laid there in shock.

Torrents of thoughts pushed in her mind like a maelstrom. Where did they come from?! Those emotions. Those feelings. She numbly licked her lips and tasted blood. Hers but not hers.

And she enjoyed it.

Weiss' words again.

**_"She is you."_**

Ruby shuddered as guilt and self-loathing wracked her body. She was wrong… she… did want to hurt people… she almost wanted to hurt Weiss.

She slowly turned her head to face her fallen foe.

"…Is that... what you… have to go through… every day?" she asked weakly.

The Wolf doesn't answer immediately. She doesn't need clarification. She just nodded, almost imperceptibly.

Ruby's arm was working now, and she clutched her chest to feel her heartbeat. Those destructive feelings. Uncontrollable. Insane. And her other self had to deal with it everyday?

She tried to deny it. But she couldn't. She had walked with those instincts, even if only for a short period. The Wolf… no the girl before her had to do the same. Even on just a superficial level… Ruby felt she understood a bit more about her other self.

_And I was the one who forced her…_ Ruby realized.

A second self. A projected mentality to deal with the harshness of instinct and survival. The girl who was created to bear the burden of pain and destruction.

"You…. are… me…." Ruby admitted.

The Wolf nodded again.

By now, their wounds have healed and they sat up staring at each other.

The animosity was not gone. The more Ruby looked at the Wolf, the more Ruby wanted to fight her again. So she shook her head to erase the thought.

If they were the same… then perhaps the thoughts that Ruby rejected flowed to the Wolf? Ruby thought back to their fight. In the midst of her anger and fury, the Wolf seemed to slow down. By now, she was… calm…-ish. If those thoughts were clouding her mind and Ruby was taking her share back, maybe the Wolf isn't just a battle crazed engine of destruction.

Everything that she had done up to now: suppressing her instincts, going against her urges, everything was bottled up… and passed on to the Wolf to deal with.

"I'm sorry…" Ruby whispered. Tears spilt from her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

The Wolf looked at her. Neither offering comfort nor spurn. She waited until the tears stopped.

"I p-promise *hic* I won't shove my emotions *sniffle* onto you again," Ruby managed through short breaths.

The Wolf nodded and stood up, pointing in a direction.

"That's the way out of here?"

Ruby moved towards the direction, but the Wolf held up one finger.

"O-one?" Ruby asked shakily. "Only one of us?"

The Wolf sunk low again and Ruby almost wanted to let her move forward as penance for the years of torture.

But…

Weiss…

Everyone…

Ruby reached deep…deeper and deeper into the cave…the source of strength and speed… ... ... _primal... ... ..._and everything went black.

…

...

...

...

Ruby breathed heavily at the unmoving body below her.

Their fighting from before was nothing compared to what had just happened.

A massacre. Over in an instant.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered.

She nearly collapsed. Not from the fatigue in her body, but from turning away the ... cave... in her mind.

"…I don't think I can ever go that savage again…" Ruby muttered more to herself than anyone. "If I do…. …. I don't think I'm coming back…"

* * *

><p><strong>Oooh, Ruby's starting to square away things with her wolf half. Let's see how Ruby will grow from this.<br>**

**I must say, you guys are scarily accurate in your reviews and comments. Some things predicted were close or spot on, and others were used in previous drafts and brainstorms. Keep them coming!**

**Hopefully this chapter revealed a bit more about Ruby's past and answered a few questions on her abilities. This chapter also drew inspiration from one of my favorite scenes of all time, haha. I hope I did it justice.**

**Now, as for everyone's gift, there is a link on my author's page that leads to a special RWBY Thanksgiving one-shot titled "Let's Chase Ruby!". Please check it out. I promise that it is cute and fluffy and simple. **

**I would post it on FF, but I've always loved visual story telling, so I've illustrated a few of the scenes. If people would rather read it on FF, then I can post my text script version as another story. Please tell me what you think, would like, or rather I should do.**

**See you guys around.**


	15. Awaken

**Ahhh~! So close to 200 follows!**

**For those who have followed since the beginning, I've finally gotten around to drawing a cover image for this story. If you haven't had a chance to see it, you can find on my RWBYShenanigans tumblr, the link is in my profile page. You can search 'wolflove' if it's buried under whatever else I've posted, haha. It might show some foreshadowing... **

**As always, on with the story and please enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: Awaken<p>

Slowly, her eyes opened.

_Warm._

Trees and bushes slowly drifted by, a tranquil journey, only the quiet sound of her carrier's heartbeat and breathing disturbed the air.

"You up yet?" Ruby called out from below.

More alert, she realized she was being carried along through the forest on Ruby's back. Ruby's arms hooked under her knees and her own arms were draped around Ruby's neck.

_Why?_

"You didn't think I'd just leave you there, did you?" Ruby grinned. "I was worried if you'd get cold while you healed so…"

Looking down, she saw the familiar red cloak draped around her frame. Warm… overwhelmed with the innocent scent of Ruby… she… didn't dislike it.

"I depended on you for a long time. Even if we never saw eye to eye."

"I promised you," Ruby reminded. "I'm not going to leave you all alone again. I'm going to start carrying my share as well," her determined voice void of any hesitation.

She tensed up. From the void of anger, hatred, and violence came kindness… understanding… emotions that she never received since her birth was now entwining around her very being. Strange… different…Scary… warm… but scary. She never had to deal with such thoughts.

"So… depend on me, okay?"

Her arms tightened and she let herself drown in the warmth they shared.

Her eyes closed as she felt Ruby's breath hitch.

Yes. This was unknown territory for both of them who shunned each others' presence for so long now.

"…!"

But this will be the start…

"C… can't breath!" Ruby managed to rasp out while struggling to draw breath.

…and they were off to such a brilliant start…

* * *

><p>Slowly, her eyes opened.<p>

_Warm._

Ruby blinked as the white ceiling of the infirmary came into focus. She felt a presence nearby and turned to look.

Weiss was just turning the door handle, about to leave.

"…"

She tried to call out, but no sound came forth.

Her limbs felt heavy and would not budge, but she had to get Weiss' attention! She didn't want to be alone right now.

Willing all of her might… she let out the most pathetic whine she could muster.

Weiss froze. She slowly turned around, scarcely believing that Ruby was awake.

Ruby managed a smile, though it was hard to keep the muscles in position for long.

"Ruby…." Weiss spoke softly while making her way over.

"…" Ruby opened her mouth, but she still couldn't speak.

Weiss noticed her gaping uselessly and filled a glass with water from a nearby table. She helped ease the girl up and let her greedily drink.

"Weiss…" Ruby called out hoarsely. She grimaced at how her voice grated. Also, there was a strange scent in the air. Weiss… but not Weiss…

Strength was slowly returning to her limbs, so at least she was able to sit up on her own volition.

"Don't try to talk," Weiss commanded as she took out her phone. "Hello? Blake? Ruby's up." She snapped her phone shut, knowing Blake would grab Yang and head there immediately.

Ruby fidgeted as she swiveled her spine, trying limber herself up. Weiss winced as Ruby cracked nearly all of joints at once.

"Don't do that," Weiss shuddered.

"Hmm?" Ruby didn't understand and tilted her head… resulting in another audible crack.

"Are you… okay?" Weiss asked warily.

Ruby nodded enthusiastically. "How long?" Ruby asked.

"Since you were knocked out? A little over a week."

"A week," Ruby muttered as she flexed her arm, only to frown that her muscles have slackened slightly from disuse.

She saw the IV drips attached to her wrists. They felt itchy, so she carelessly ripped them off.

"Ruby!" Weiss hurried over to her to stop the bleeding.

Except the small holes closed up right before her eyes.

"I'm back!" Ruby smiled.

Weiss took a moment to comprehend what Ruby meant. Back? As in…?

"You… talked with her?"

Ruby nodded. "Yep! I think we're finally seeing eye to eye." A play smirk appeared. "And guess what else?"

Before Weiss even had a chance to respond, she found herself staring at Ruby's claws, only a few millimeters from her eyes. There wasn't any warning, the air did not so much as moved while Ruby's hand went from her side to Weiss' face. The hand held still, impeccable control.

Ruby held her confident grin as she pulled back her arm. Weiss let out a breath she did know know she held.

"My body feels so light now! I only have to think of what to do and I can do it!" Ruby bounced in her bed. Weiss smiled, a welcomed change from how she was acting a few weeks ago. Hesitation haunted her every move, but now? Ruby's happily beaming face reminded her of when she first met the girl.

Ruby stopped bouncing and looked back at Weiss into her eyes. Their gaze held and Weiss was starting to feel self-conscious when the door burst open as Yang crashed into the room and Blake followed.

While Weiss reprimanded them on disturbing the other patients, Ruby's thoughts drifted back to her other self.

Before they parted and Ruby returned to the world of the conscious, she asked about something she noticed.

"_Hey… whenever you attacked Weiss, why do you always go for her eyes?"_

…

_No answer came immediately, Ruby wasn't even sure if she could speak. But she felt she can understand her emotions and thoughts somewhat._

"_Huh? You… don't… like them because they look defiant?"_

_A quick shake._

"_You… __**like**__ them… because they are defiant?"_

Ruby couldn't understand the conflicting emotions. Jealousy. Envy. Threatening. The wolf within recognized Weiss' strength and realized that Weiss may undermine her leadership. But at the same time, the wolf respected the strength and audacity to berate Ruby. Those eyes… so full of light and life, a brilliance that cuts through weaker wills.

Thus Ruby tried to understand. She showed Weiss that she could control herself. She showed the wolf that she trusted her not to hurt Weiss. And she herself saw the appeal.

The moment those icy steel eyes froze up in terror. The realization that Ruby was still the alpha of the pack, and that she could end Weiss in an instant. Ruby found herself reveling in the moment.

But it was only for a moment, and Ruby would never want to hurt Weiss… at least that's what she told herself.

"So you're back to full health?" Yang asked, breaking Ruby out of her reverie.

"Yep! Let's get going!" Ruby said excitedly, hurrying out of bed.

"Not so fast," Weiss pushed her back down. "I want a doctor to give you a full check up, before letting you go."

"Aww," Ruby whined. "But I feel fine."

"You had third degree burns!" Weiss shouted. "And going from the top, you got lost, made us worry, got into a fight, got injured in said fight, and then slept for a week!"

"I don't know what 'third degree' means, but it couldn't have been that bad, right?" Ruby wondered.

"It was pretty bad," Blake admitted. "It wasn't over a large area, since most of your clothes took the blast, but your hands and face were pretty charred. The doctors said scarring was guaranteed."

"Doc also said they had to take some skin from your legs to help graft on the wounds," Yang chipped in. "But they fell off the third day you slept and new skin had somehow regrown underneath."

Ruby looked at her hands and felt her face. No scars. Her skin was as unblemished as ever.

"Yep," she whispered softly. "I'm definitely back."

When Yang and Blake looked at her strangely, she waved them off. "So what else happened while I was asleep?"

Yang grinned, "Well, you just missed the most awesome food fight ever!"

Ruby laughed as Yang recounted team JNPR's attack on team WBY. Without their "fearless leader", team WBY suffered a crushing defeat. Pinned down by superior numbers, even if it was only by Jaune, they had a difficult time returning fire. Even when Yang picked up the turkeys and started to power through, without someone to direct, she quickly fell to the combined assault of melon-hammer and leeks.

"Managed to flambé them pretty good when Jaune threw some whipped cream in my hair," Yang patted her hair softly. "Of course, at that point I saw Blake and Weiss trying to grapple Pyrrha and Nora and I wanted to take some of the cream and throw it on them."

Blake punched Yang's arm.

Ruby wiped away a tear from laughing so hard. "Speaking of fighting, what happened?"

Blake frowned and Weiss narrowed her eyes. Ruby looked helplessly at the two of them, trying to understand what was going on. Luckily, Yang filled her in.

"Well, after we got you to the hospital, we sat down and tried to figure out what we knew and where to go from there. We almost decided to dig deeper and find out what went down, but these two were too worried about you and decided to wait until you're better."

Both Blake and Weiss gave Yang a look. Weiss' look was a glare.

"How dare you! I was not worried!" Weiss huffed as she stormed off, presumably to call a doctor.

They all looked at open door once Weiss left. A few seconds later, her head popped back in and shouted, "Not in the slightest!" Before leaving for real.

Yang chuckled and shook her head. "Well, I have no problem saying I was worried." She checked Ruby up and down. "You… are all better, right?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Great!" Yang's grin grew twofold. "Then you won't mind this!"

Sweeping Ruby into a giant bear hug, Yang proceeded to squeeze the air out of her.

"Ack! Yang! Can't… breathe!" Ruby squirmed and struggled futilely to escape from the death trap.

"Good! Now you know how I felt when I found out!" Yang joked, but Ruby could tell the fear and concern tinging her voice.

Wiggling some elbow room, Ruby returned the hug. "Thanks Yang." Pulling close, she breathed in Yang's scent, noticing a strange smell again.

They stayed like that while Blake watched warmly until the doctor came back. Ruby didn't want to let go and clung to Yang the entire time, like a little child's first time getting a check up.

Though the doctors were amazed at Ruby's healing rate, something that baffled and caused much discussion within the staff room, she was given a clean bill of health and allowed to leave.

Ruby gave a cheer and eagerly bounced around the room.

"I thought they said you had slight muscle atrophy from not moving?" Blake questioned.

"I don't know what that means!" Ruby's smile never faltered as she worked the bounce into a dance.

While Yang listened quietly to the doctor explaining Ruby's health, she had a thought.

"Hey Ruby, flex your arm like this for me," Yang demonstrated as she clenched her fist and strained her muscles. Both Blake and Ruby stared as the rippling flesh tensed and hardened.

"Okay," Ruby stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth as she tried to get in the same pose as Yang. She clenched her fist and strained her muscles. Both Blake and Yang stared as nothing really changed.

"Huh… I thought though…?" Yang scratched her head trying to figure out if her prediction was wrong.

Ruby kept pumping her arm, flexing and unflexing, clench and unclenching. "Hey look Yang!"

Yang looked back and saw the tiny mounds of muscles starting to form on Ruby's biceps.

She looked over to Blake. "Okay, now that's just weird."

As they retreated back to their dorm, Weiss rejoined and they made small talk about whatever came to mind, from Ruby's strange body, how team JNPR and CFVY and various other students also visited Ruby while she was unconscious, to the new assignments due the next day (courtesy of Weiss).

Despite the short trip needing only ten minutes, they arrived nearly half an hour later because Ruby was stopped by so many people greeting and asking her health. Naturally, Ruby responded and chatted in turn, delaying them further.

"Finally!" Weiss exclaimed as she unlocked the door. "We're back~!" she announced cheerfully, though Ruby wondered to whom.

"Arf!" Ruby froze at that sound.

"How's my cute widdle baby?" Weiss cooed and babbled as she lavished affection on the small dog.

While Yang walked in and Blake warily tiptoed around the dog, Ruby just stood stock still. Her eyes narrowed and a low growl lulled through the room, bringing everyone's eyes to her.

She glared at the creature, almost condescendingly so.

"Ahem," Weiss cleared her throat as she smoothed out her dress. "Ruby, this is Zwei," she introduced in a serious tone reserved for important persons. "Yang's father sent him here and we will be looking after him for the time being."

Her serious facade lasted for about two seconds. "And isn't he just the most adorable thing ever!"

Ruby's glare never broke from Zwei, and he never turned away either. The message between them was clear:

_This is my territory!_

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

Yang gave a low whistle, "You got a pretty good haul."

Every person they passed on their way to their dorm had given Ruby a small treat, from the ever popular cookies to small candies full of colors.

"Everyone is so nice," Ruby remembered to properly thank everyone for every gift.

"Yes, and I will be confiscating them for the time being," Weiss declared as she took the junk food and held it just out of reach from Ruby.

"Awww…" Ruby pouted and her ears flattened.

"Come on Weiss, she just got out of the infirmary," Yang argued.

"Exactly, so she will be following a strict diet of nutritious food," Weiss countered. Unfortunately, she made the small mistake of looking at Ruby's dejected face. "…Hrk!….. … .. fine! I'll allow some treats for dessert!"

"Thanks Weiss!" Ruby grinned and tackle-hugged Weiss from the side.

"G-get off of me, you overgrown puppy!"

* * *

><p><strong>And so the first arc of denial and acceptance is over... or is it?... Probably is... probably. <strong>

**Wolfy isn't going to go away that easily. When something has been a part of you for years, you never ever truly get rid of it. Of course, she'll probably quiet down if Ruby sticks to her promise. Maybe she'll surface once in a while, who knows?**

**Instead, Ruby's going to have to clash with a whole different kind of beast.**

**So what are your thoughts or predictions on this? I'd love to hear them, so please leave a review, favorite, or follow if you would like.**


	16. Rivals

**The promised chapter!**

**There were so many people wondering how Ruby was going to react to Zwei. Well we'll find out.**

**Please enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: Rivals<p>

Ruby tried ignoring Zwei. She tried to go back to her everyday behavior, playing with everyone and having a good time. And she did… for a while.

After her release from the infirmary, the professors informed her that due to her injuries, team RWBY was exempt from having to choose a mission and senior hunter to follow and learn from, but now that she was back, they expected the team to choose soon.

"It will be a good learning experience," Ozpin had explained to her, and that it was a chance to see more of the outside world.

Ruby could hardly contain her excitement as she ran back to inform the others and ask where they would like to go.

Yang wanted some place with lots of action and adventure, whereas Blake would not have minded something requiring stealth; both wanting missions that fit their styles Ruby noted.

Weiss had to be asked twice as she was too enamored playing with Zwei.

"Wherever you decide is fine," she said once Ruby had her attention. "I do hope there are still interesting missions left. Since we're choosing so late, all the good ones are probably already taken."

"I'm sorry," Ruby murmured, knowing that her bed rest had held the team back.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Weiss asked concerned. "You just got out of bed, so you can still take things easy for a few days."

Ruby shook her head. "No. I really need to move around. I'm feeling all…. I don't know… bouncy?"

"Well, Yang's probably training or messing around in the courtyard and I think Blake's reading in the library if you want some company."

"Uh… um… what are you going to be doing?" Ruby asked in a hopeful voice.

"Me? I'm just going to take it easy and play with Zwei," Weiss smiled and started rubbing Zwei's ears.

"O-oh… okay then," Ruby muttered dejectedly and walked out. Hearing Weiss' giggles only made her want to get away even faster for some reason.

Knowing that Yang would probably want to train (read as play) with her, Ruby almost headed towards the courtyard. But a painful twinge in her chest stopped her. Playing would remind her of Weiss playing with Zwei.

Ruby shook her head to clear the thought. It was good that Weiss was having fun… right?

Instead, she decided that maybe reading with Blake would be better.

She waved to the head librarian as she passed by and found Blake at their usual table, engrossed in a riveting tale as always. An imperceptible flick of her bow was the only indication that she knew Ruby was near, but Ruby smiled as she picked out a book.

While they normally sat across from each other, Ruby slid next to Blake. If the older cat Faunus noticed, she didn't give any indication, and Ruby silently enjoyed the warmth of being near a friend.

Ruby's eyes danced across the page, a story of a dog so loyal that when his owner passed away, the dog dutifully stayed by his side and tried to wake him. After finally accepting his owner's death, the dog attended the funeral and watched as his old friend was lowered into the ground. Until the day he died, he visited the grave everyday, placing a small pebble before the tombstone.

Ruby sniffled and silently prayed that the two friends were able to meet up again.

But even after closing the book, her tears didn't stop.

"H-huh?" Ruby kept wiping with the back of her hands, but more kept coming.

"Here," she turned to see Blake holding out a handkerchief. Blake dabbed at her cheeks to dry up the tears. "Now, what's wrong?"

Ruby frowned and stayed silent. She wasn't sure what was wrong exactly.

"I can take a guess, and I think it starts with 'Weiss'," Blake said helpfully.

"…Weiss…" Ruby curled up slightly from the name. "…Weiss used to wipe my tears too…"

"Used to?" Blake questioned.

Ruby squirmed in her seat. She didn't say anything, but Blake could harbor a safe guess.

"You're feeling jealous aren't you?"

"What's… jealous?" Ruby cocked her head trying to understand the word and put it to her emotions. A swirling whirlpool of strange feelings… she didn't think it would be so easy to put into one word.

"What do you think about Zwei?"

"Zwei?"

She thought hard. She didn't know him, so… it was hard to think anything about him. But when she thought of how close he was with Weiss…

"…it hurts…" she whimpers as she clutched her chest.

Blake just nodded understandingly.

"Look, you should get your mind off things," Blake suggested. "It'll help."

"How?"

"I don't know. Go play with Yang or something," Blake shrugged. "Play so hard Weiss will be jealous that you didn't play with her."

Ruby frowned. "I don't want to make her hurt."

"She won't be," Blake assured with confidence. "It's just an expression. Play to your heart's content and forget about those feelings Ruby. She'll come around." Blake smiled. "Besides, you haven't been able to spend a lot of time with Yang right?"

Ruby's ears perked up slightly. "Okay! Thanks, Blake!"

Ruby started out the library, but quickly backtracked and grabbed the book she was reading to place on the return cart on the way out.

* * *

><p>As Weiss and Blake said, Yang was outside, though she was just ambling slowly and relaxing in the warm sun.<p>

She saw Ruby walking up to her and waved cheerfully. The moment Ruby was at arms length, Yang pulled her into a hug.

"Y-Yang?!"

"Hehe, you looked like you needed one," Yang grinned. "So what's up?"

Ruby struggled slightly before freeing herself. "Blake said I should play with you."

"Oh? Is that the only reason?" Yang quirked an eyebrow.

Ruby blushed at her implication. "U-um… I wanted to play with you too…"

"Hehe, I'm just teasing ya'," Yang laughed good-naturedly.

"So what should we play?" Ruby asked excitedly.

"Hmm…" Yang reached into her childhood memories to find a game suitable for the two of them. Nothing speed based, since Ruby would win easily. But nothing strength based since that tipped the field too far in her favor.

"How about Color Walk?"

"Color Walk?"

"Yeah! So we'll each take turns calling out a color. We both have to move, but in one step we have to land on the same color. So for instance, I say 'brown'," Yang quickly jumped on top of a nearby stump.

Ruby quickly caught on and hopped on a bench.

"You've got it! If you can't make it in one move, then you're out! Your turn!"

Ruby looked around. Something that was close enough so she could make it, but nothing else so Yang couldn't…

"Hmm…" she smiled as she found a target. "White!"

Carefully judging the distance, Ruby jumped and stepped on a piece of paper someone had littered. Assured of her victory, she looked back to see Yang standing where she stood, whistling innocently.

"Hey! You stepped on brown!"

"Nuh-uh!" Yang wagged her finger. She pointed down with a cocky and self-satisfied grin. Ruby followed her finger to see her pointing at the white flecks on the stone.

"That counted?!"

"Well, yeah," Yang shrugged. "The paper you're standing on has writing and stains and other stuff as well right?"

"Hmph," Ruby pouted at not getting such an easy win as she thought. She smirked. Well, that made the game funner.

"Hurry it up already!" she urged Yang.

"Okay, okay!" Yang laughed.

Red, a leaf and soda can. Orange, both of them perched precariously on road cones making everyone laugh as they continued the game. More and more colors were spouted and the two kept trying to out-think the other.

The game had lasted for several hours and by that time, Ruby looked around and saw that they were finally inside the school again, limiting the color palettes they were allowed to use. But nonetheless, she had a plan.

"Black!" she shouted as she swiped a dropped pen. She broke it and spilled the ink on the ground and quickly stepped on it before Yang had a chance.

Yang, realizing Ruby's plan, desperately looked around for anything black. Unfortunately, she couldn't see anything.

She clenched her fist as she realized she may have to admit defeat… but suddenly saw her way to victory.

She looked at Ruby's smug face with a smirk.

Raising her hands up as if surrendering, Yang quickly brought them down and did a handstand.

"My gloves are black underneath Ember Celica, so technically I'm touching black!"

"Aww that's cheating!" Ruby exclaimed. "Otherwise, our boots would have counted for everything!"

"Haha! Tell you what, you can go again then to make up for it. Just hurry will you? My arms will get tired eventually," Yang laughed.

"Only because you can't see anything from down there," Ruby muttered. But she had a sudden spark, if Yang couldn't see anything to call out, she wouldn't be able to see anything to land on either.

"… Purple…"

"What?!" Yang craned her neck as far as she could, but it was no use. From her vantage point, she could not see anything purple.

"Dang it!" Yang leaned back and flipped back upright. "Let's see how you… won…"

Ruby was gripping the top edge of a vending machine, her feet planted on the forward face depicting 'People Like Grape Soda'.

Upon hearing that she won, Ruby disappeared from her spot and reappeared in front of Yang, leaving behind a trail of petals and inky footprints.

"I won!" Ruby cheered.

"Yeah, you did!" Yang agreed. "So you want your prize?"

"Hm?"

"You get… a tickle!" Yang poked at Ruby's sides, causing her to squeal loudly. Pressing her advantage, Yang chased Ruby down the hall and back to their dorm. Their laughter echoed throughout the halls annoying some, but brought smiles to others.

* * *

><p>"Hahahaha *snrk* gahaha! S-stop Yang!" Ruby continued to laugh as she fell through the doorway.<p>

Deciding to let Ruby off easy this time, Yang stopped her torturous chase and allowed the two of them some air to breathe. This wasn't what she had expected when she took her walk, but it was fun nonetheless.

Once Ruby finished catching her breath, she stood up red-faced and looked around the room.

Weiss was sitting at her desk, typing away on her computer. Ruby bounced to her exuberantly, wanting to share what she did and how much fun she and Yang had.

"Weiss! Weiss! Guess what I did today! I was kinda sad, but then I read with Blake and played with Yang and she had this really, really cool ga-"

"Yes, yes Ruby," Weiss waved distractedly. "I'm certain you had fun." She sniffed. "But you should go take a bath. You stink of sweat."

Ruby wilted at her comment. Yang shook her head, but then sniffed herself and Ruby.

"Whoa, she might be right, Rubes. Let's hit the shower," Yang called out as she dragged Ruby by her cape.

"But! But!" Ruby tried to protest.

Throughout the shower, Ruby tried to hurry as much as possible. Not very possible as she soon found out.

"Hey Rubes! I'm coming in!" Yang shouted.

"Hm?"

Yang barged into Ruby's stall in all her glory. Ruby didn't even bat an eye and proceeded to shake the water from her hair.

"I'm done so I'll head back first!" Ruby tried to say as she stepped towards the exit.

"Not so fast!" Yang grabbed her shoulder and spun her back into the stall. "You didn't properly clean did you?"

"Of course I did!" Ruby objected with a pout.

"Nope. You weren't in there long enough. Come on, nothing wrong with a bit of teammate skinship," Yang grinned.

She grabbed the shower head and proceeded to rinse Ruby again.

Ruby struggled and tried to get away. "Nooooo! I'm already clean!" She suddenly froze. "W-wait! What's that smell?" Ruby panicked. A strong odor hit her nose and she couldn't identify the source. It smelled like… strawberries?

"Hold still or I'll get soap in your eyes," Yang was already lathering the shampoo into her hair.

Ruby stopped struggling as she let Yang's fingers run through her hair and scratched her scalp. They felt nice. Ruby almost got lulled to the point of missing Yang saying, "Close your eyes now," and feeling like a bucket of water was dumped on her.

Once the suds were washed away, Ruby felt her head was lighter. She grinned at Yang. Whatever she did was pretty nice. She couldn't wait to go back and tell Weiss about it.

"Now you do me," Yang said as she sat where Ruby was and waited for Ruby to wet her hair.

Ruby froze. "H-huh?"

"Your turn," Yang grinned. Normally very protective of her hair, letting Ruby even touch it showed how much Yang trusted Ruby.

While Ruby just wanted to rush back to the dorm, she couldn't leave Yang hanging. Besides, Yang made her feel nice, so she felt it was only right to make Yang feel nice too. … Hmm… maybe she can practice and do this for Blake and Weiss too?

Ruby swallowed her hesitation and walked over to Yang.

"Okay, but I've never done this before… please teach me," Ruby picked up the shower head and fiddled with the settings for rinse, trying to get it started.

"No problem!" Yang grinned. "All you have to do is - COLD!"

* * *

><p>Ruby and Yang trekked back to their dorm shivering and sniffling. Mostly the sniffles came from Yang as Ruby was used to the cold water.<p>

Unfortunately, by the time they got back, Blake and Weiss were already in bed.

"Oh man, I can use a couple of z's right now," Yang yawned as she approached her bed. "Night Rubes."

Ruby's ears flattened when she listened to the rhythmic breathing of the room.

She walked to her bed, passing by Weiss' and saw the heiress curled up with Zwei.

"…grrrrrrlllll…." Her hands flew to her mouth to block the noise from her throat.

She quickly hopped into her bed and pulled up the covers and tried to put the thought out of her mind and go to sleep.

…

…

Try as she might, tossing and turning under the sheets, her mind was too agitated to sleep. As she pulled the sheets closer to her, she caught a strange whiff. Not her scent, but Zwei's.

She threw open the sheets and sniffed all around her bed. Her bed, the table, all over the floor, she smelled the faint traces of Zwei and found his fur.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at her partner's bed and a primal force welled within her to act.

She quickly clamped down on it. The emotions were still there, but she kept the clarity of her mind. After all, she promised.

That's it!

Ruby realized she may have promised to bear her emotions herself, but nothing barred her from asking for advice.

She retreated into her mind found her other self sitting on a log in their shared mental forest.

"H-hey," she called out softly, and was acknowledged with a nod.

"I wanted to ask you… if you ever felt this?"

A shake.

"No?"

Another shake.

Of course, living alone meant that Ruby, this or the other, never had any reason to be jealous of anything.

"O-oh… um… but, how should I…" Ruby's words faltered. She didn't know what she was feeling, so she had no idea of how to deal with it.

Her other self paused and thought. Negative emotions were everything in her life for years, this would be no different. She walked up to Ruby and pressed their foreheads together. Images, sounds, smells, and light feathery touches filled Ruby before she suddenly jerked away.

"Y-you really think that will work?"

Nod.

Ruby smiled. "Thanks!"

"Thank you," Ruby whispered again as her mind resurfaced and she was back in her dorm.

Ruby walked over to the window and opened it quietly. A chill wind rippled the curtains and she jumped.

Landing softly on all fours, Ruby took off like a shot. She had no destination. She had no goal. She just ran.

The cold air whipped around her as she darted into the undergrowth of the forest, remembering how her other self moved and remained completely silent.

She could feel it. Her other self was right beside her. No, right where she was. Everything she experienced, her other self did. Everything her other self experienced, was passed on to her. They both grinned as the dark forest was illuminated in their eyes. What might have been pitch blackness to anyone else was like an overcast day to them.

They approached a cliff overlooking the rest of the forest below. A large clearing with a beautiful view of the moon.

Ruby moved towards the edge and gazed at how large the moon seemed from there. An instinct welled within her, and the sublime light told her to release all inhibitions.

And so she did.

She threw back her head and howled. A long howl, starting off soft and crescendoing into a rich deep tone. Several more joined her. Loud ones. Meek ones. High ones. Low ones.

Her breath eventually gave out and the howl slowed and lulled back into silence. Face flushed and breathing heavily, Ruby grinned.

That felt amazing!

She sucked in several deep breaths.

And howled again. This time stronger, more confident. And even more howls joined her.

But another sound joined them. Ruby's ears swiveled and her howl was cut short. Something was crashing through the trees, interrupting her beautiful night.

Her eyes saw the tell-tale red markings and white bones. Her lips pulled into maniacal grin. Her fangs and claws sharpened.

A flash of petals. A shriek of pain. A pool of blood.

Ruby licked the blood off her fingers as she stared down at the broken body. A wicked thought came to her mind that made her grin even more. She leaned down and clamped her teeth into the beast's neck and started dragging.

* * *

><p>Weiss slammed her hand on her alarm clock to stop its infernal noise. As much as she needed it, she did not have to appreciate how early it always seemed.<p>

She rolled over to try and get a few more minutes of sleep, but froze when she felt eyes on her.

Red eyes.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she shrieked as she looked an Ursae dead in the eyes.

Scrambling backwards and drawing trusty Myrtenaster by her bedside, she pointed her blade at the… half-dead Grimm.

Looking closely, she saw it was barely breathing. No, it had difficulty breathing. The creature was marked a fatal blow, but allowed to live.

Something was wrong. More so than finding a Grimm in your dorm when you first wake up. Her eyes scanned the room and she gawked. A Boarbatusk and two Beowolves, also near dead, arranged around her bed.

At the foot of her bed, on her haunches and tail wagging back and forth happily…

"RUBY ROSE!"

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

Ruby whimpered as she looked dejectedly at the ground. A placard hung around her neck.

_I won't bring half dead Grimm into the dorm again as a present._

Everyone pointed and jeered as Ruby's whimpers turned to sobs.

Yang was happy this only happened in her head and not what was happening now. She winced alongside Ruby as Weiss went into another tirade.

* * *

><p><strong>No direct confrontations for now. After all, Ruby is trying her hardest to not hurt others, even by accident.<strong>

**I hoped there were some touching moments and some funny moments. Most definitely I hope there were a few character growth and bonding moments.**

**Thank you for all the comments and reviews so far. I have a blast each time I read a new one and here's to more in the future! Please drop a comment on what you liked or didn't like.**

**As a plus, since Christmas is just around the corner, I'm preparing another present for everyone. The next chapter might be a bit shorter as a result, but we'll see. Hope you all will enjoy it when it comes around along with the next chapter.**


	17. Admitting Jealousy

**So shorter chapter?**

**Nope! **

**Here's hoping you enjoy it anyways.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 17: Admitting Jealousy<p>

Blake watched the scene in front of her with interest. On one hand, Ruby looked adorable even as Weiss lectured her on why Grimm should not be brought indoors. Ruby's ears were flattened against her head and her tail tucked between her legs as she sat on the ground. Every time Weiss' voice hit a particular note, Ruby cringed and trembled, knowing that another rant was eminent.

On the other hand, Ruby's bestial side was manifesting more and Blake's own instincts were telling her to jump out the window. While Blake hated thinking about Ruby like this, the young pack leader triggered the same senses the infernal dog had.

Meanwhile, Zwei made himself comfortable on Yang; both watched the lecture with rapt attention. Ruby's eyes would flicker to Zwei every once in a while when Weiss turned away. Blake couldn't understand quite what Ruby was thinking, but this situation was quickly getting out of hand.

"Alright Weiss, I think Ruby's learned her lesson. Haven't you, Ruby?" Blake glanced over to Ruby and gave her a look.

Ruby nodded quickly, her hair flapping about.

Weiss frowned. "Fine, as long as you remember…. Now the bigger question is what we do about this?" Weiss looked around the room at the beasts. Weiss started lecturing Ruby immediately after getting out of bed, so the poor Grimm had to endure her voice as well.

"We just need to get rid of them, right?" Ruby asked softly as she pulled her hood over her head.

"Yeah, how'd you get them here without getting caught anyways?" Yang ask as she stood up and got ready to heave the Ursa out the window.

"Window," Ruby answered as she walked over to the Boarbatusk.

Instead of lifting it up, Ruby gouged out its throat.

"What are you doing?!" Weiss shrieked. She hopped back to avoid the wave of blood that splattered around.

"You said we just needed to get rid of them," Ruby said as she calmly walked over to the other Grimm and repeated the process. To the Grimm, this was more of a blessing than to endure flitting on the edge of life and death the whole night.

Already the Boarbatusk's body started to decay into ashes and smoke. Within a few hours, no trace, not even blood, will be evidence.

"Can't ever enjoy a good meal," Ruby sniffed disdainfully.

"You like eating them?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. Ruby did put on quite a show when she devoured the organs of the Boarbatusk in Port's class.

Ruby nodded. "It's not very filling, but it tastes good."

Everyone else shared a queasy look.

"Well, how about something tastier?" Yang asked. "Breakfast?"

"Yay!" Ruby cheered as she opened the door for everyone.

Blake and Yang exited, though Weiss took a while longer to make sure Zwei would be fine while they had breakfast and classes.

Everyone who wasn't able to greet Ruby yesterday took the chance to talk to her at breakfast. Ruby even shouted a "Hello!" to team CRDL, who grunted in acknowledgement. It wasn't much, but a little better than their first meeting.

Despite quite a few people wanting to talk to her, Ruby quickly grabbed her food from the line and hurried back to where the rest of her team sat along with team JNPR and CFVY.

"So we've heard that you dragged back four half-dead Grimm to your dorm," Jaune grinned while Nora laughed and Coco and Velvet chuckled into their hands.

"Ehehehe~" Ruby rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"You've gotta tell us how!" Nora shouted with an evil glint in her eyes.

"No Nora," Ren chided. "No Grimm in our dorms."

"Aww…" Nora pouted.

"That does bring up the question of how you brought them into your room without anyone waking up," Pyrrha wondered.

"Well, I was out like a light, and these two seemed dead to the world," Yang gestured to Blake and Weiss.

"Hey! I was doing important research before sleeping," Weiss said defensively. "Though I thought Zwei would have woken up at least."

Ruby frowned slightly at the mention.

"Hah!" Yang barked a laugh. "There's only two others who sleep deeper than me, and one of them's Zwei. Lazy dog wouldn't notice if a nuke went off next to him. Wouldn't care either," she shrugged before grinning. "Guess it runs in the family."

Ruby silently wished that she could go for a few hours without someone bringing up the dog. She shook her head, realizing the irrational line of thought. Besides, she could still enjoyed classes with Weiss after breakfast.

Unfortunately, class that day was an individuals sparring match between teams. Team JNPR and RWBY were paired up, but they were to fight their respective positions. Thus Ruby faced against Jaune while Weiss clashed with Nora.

Each pair took to their area, Jaune smiling at Ruby.

"Go easy on me will you?" he asked, knowing full well her potential. "Oh, but not too easy! I need to give everything I've got."

Ruby smiled in return. Only a few weeks ago, Jaune was a considered wreck and failure of a leader. But after talking with her and learning from Pyrrha, he was starting to gain his own confidence.

Jaune took a novice stance, his balance and center far too high to be safe, but he kept his shield up and closed his guard. He knew Ruby's speed is her greatest asset and her attacks can end a match in seconds, if even that.

In his sparring with Pyrrha, they often talked about tactics in their breaks, using their classmates as examples. Ruby liked to strike from blindspots, and his shield would only protect his front. If he ever lost track of her, he must focus on defensive maneuvers, prioritizing his back and sides.

Ruby sunk down into her ready position. Her nails grew and sharpened. Everything around her dulled and her senses sharpened. Jaune's stance was weak. He completely left the back of his knees open and she can take them out with one slash.

She closed her eyes and disregarded the plan. He said to go a bit easy on him. Besides, she was also curious about how he fought.

She disappeared.

Jaune quickly whirled around while raising his shield, already predicting her behind him.

CLANG!

The force was strong enough to spin him and make him lose his balance!

Planting his feet wide, he looked up at Ruby to see her clutching her hand. Blood dripped freely from her nails that were ripped out. She looked down at her hand, and then back up at the shield. His arm was still shaking from how hard she hit, but he was unscathed.

Ruby smirked and her claws regrew.

She moved like a blur, dancing around him as he tried to block her attacks while retaliating whenever he saw the chance. His sword acted almost as a second shield, placing it in her path forced her to pick a different angle of attack.

But he could feel it. Even with every attack moving slower than a fraction of Ruby's speed, the amount of energy impacted left his entire body reverberating. Going easy on him meant he could actually keep up with the red blur to some extent and soften some of the blows and even avoided some entirely.

_Still, it would be so much easier without these blasted petals!_

Half the time his vision was clogged by red petals that drifted about whenever Ruby sped up. One passed by his eyes, completely blinding him for a split instant. But that was all Ruby needed as she circled around behind him, digging her claws slightly into his throat and placing her other claws on his abdomen.

"Ready to give?" she asked cheekily.

"…no…" he muttered, still trying to think of a way out. Had this been a real fight, she could have ended him then and there… but this wasn't a real fight. And he wasn't a quitter.

A large quake knocked everyone off their feet.

Ruby immediately hopped to her feet to see the cause.

Weiss rolled out of the way as Nora's hammer smashed the ground she was at only milliseconds before. The heiress had tried every tactic she knew against the berserking valkyrie.

She had tried throwing fireballs at the girl. Nora smashed her hammer on the ground and used the wind to blow them back. She tried freezing the ground. Nora smashed her hammer on the ground to break the ice. She tried freezing Nora. Nora smashed the hammer into the shot like an oversized croquet mallet, sending half of it back and forcing Weiss to dodge, while the other half froze half the hammerhead.

Nora took second to admire the spiking icicles before deciding that such an addition only made her beloved Magnhild that much deadlier and more awesome.

"HAHAHAHAhAHAHA!" All the while she was cackling like a sociopath.

"Come on Weiss, you can't keep hiding behind shots forever," she said as she slowly advanced. "Are you woman or wombat?! Time to see what you're made of!"

Weiss bit back a grimace, refusing to rise against Nora in a direct battle. In their last confrontation, the food fight, Nora's Melonhild was a force to reckon with. Not only did it send Yang sky-high, Weiss was smashed into a column and it was a memory she would not want to relive.

But she needed a way to turn the tide. If only she could disarm Nora…

Weiss stood up and took a lunging stance. Nora would recognize what Weiss was about to do. Good.

The moment Weiss shot forward, Nora swung her hammer sideways, forcing Weiss to move out of the way or risk getting hit by the head. Even if Weiss used a glyph to move faster, she would still be struck by the handle.

Instead, Weiss threw forward a hastening glyph right at Nora.

Nora's eyes widen as her weapon swung faster than she anticipated. Weiss would close in during that time as her back was turned!

Nora grinned.

She dug her heels into the ground and rotated her hammerhead to face the opposite direction. Firing several shots, she accelerated her own rotation faster than Weiss anticipated!

Time seemed to slow down as Weiss realized her mistake. Going this fast and coupled with her own haste, Magnhild would break through all of her defensive glyphs without any effort.

She braced as best she could. A broken arm, ribs, and potential internal injuries would be getting off lightly.

Instead the blow never came.

She slowly opened her eyes to see Nora spinning around uncontrollably like a top several meters away. With a very dangerous weapon that threatened to decapitate anyone who dared venture near.

She looked up to see Ruby protectively cradling her while snarling at Nora.

"Nora stop!" Ren called out.

"Kaaaaaaaay~!" Nora angled her shoulders up and let go. Magnhild soared through the air and imbedded itself inside the wall, showering debris on nearby students who rushed to get away.

Without the added mass, Nora slowed and dizzily danced back and forth.

"Whoa! There's like five of everyone!"

Weiss shook her head and tugged at Ruby's hood to get her attention. "Dolt. You didn't have rush in."

Ruby let go of Weiss as she looked down. "I didn't want to see you hurt."

"Like I said, I can take a bit of punishment. Besides, we're hunters and huntresses. We have to get hurt eventually," Weiss humphed, more out of pride than anything else. She wouldn't admit it, but she was glad she did not have to reacquaint herself with Nora's herculean strength.

Ruby puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. At the same time, Nora bounced over.

"Hey Weiss-es, sorry about almost splatting you everywhere," she apologized as everyone walked over. "If that happened, at least everyone would finally see what you were made of."

Yang guffawed loudly and fist-bumped Nora. Everyone glared at them at the joke made in poor taste.

"Come on, we need to talk to Professor Goodwitch," Ren suggested to Nora and Weiss. "We need to tell her what happened, and why we need help getting Magnhild down."

Weiss rolled her eyes but told them to head to lunch first. She would be there shortly after explaining her side of the story.

* * *

><p>That day's menu was a beautiful steak sautée and deglazed sauce. A rich aroma from the fresh butter and slight sage and black pepper in the pans filled the cafeteria and whetted appetites.<p>

Too bad so few at the table enjoyed the meal.

Lunch was a heated affair as Ruby glared frostily at the canine being fed under the table. While Weiss kept babbling baby talk to Zwei as she fed him, everyone else noticed the tense atmosphere.

Weiss had backtracked to the dorm after Professor Goodwitch's lecture on overzealous sparring, worried about Zwei being cooped up in the room all day without any food so she brought him to lunch.

"So how are you holding up?" Jaune asked Ruby tentatively.

"Fine," came her short reply.

Jaune looked helplessly to Pyrrha who could only shrug back as she stared at Ruby in confusion. The normally chipper girl looked so despondent.

Weiss picked up her second fork and placed a small piece of steak on it. "Say 'arf'!" she said as she offered to Zwei.

A low growl emanated from Ruby's throat.

"Um… Weiss?" Yang nudged her warily.

"Hmm?" Weiss looked up at Yang. "Oh don't worry, he can eat this."

"Not what I'm worried about," Yang muttered.

"What then?" Weiss said absentmindedly as she cut off another piece.

Yang jerked her head slightly at Ruby.

"Ruby? Something wrong?" Weiss asked while still feeding Zwei.

Ruby swore she could see the smug look in his eyes.

"Arf!"

Ruby snapped.

She lunged onto the table, knocking over everyone's food, and bit down on Weiss' fork. While everyone watched in shock, she leaned over and lifted the rest of the steak with her teeth before snarling at Zwei.

In a swirl of red petals, Ruby disappeared from the cafeteria.

Weiss looked back and forth from where Ruby stood to her fork. The tines were mangled from her teeth, leaving deep grooves and dents. Half of her was worried for the girl's dental health, the other half screamed, "What the heck was that?!"

Team JNPR looked nervously looked at each other.

Blake sighed. "That was Ruby feeling very down."

"No Blake, people cry when they're down, or gorge on unhealthy amounts of ice cream," Weiss dismissed the idea. "Now tell me what happened? She looked so… angry," Weiss frowned.

Blake grimaced. Though she would love nothing more than to tell Weiss how Ruby was feeling, this was not her place to do so. Weiss would have to figure that part out.

Thankfully for all of them, Yang had no such inclinations.

"Okay look, I'm gonna' level with you," Yang sighed as she looked straight at Weiss. "Ever since Ruby's woken up, you haven't spent any time with her."

"But it's only been a day!"

"To you," Yang responded calmly. "One day for you since you were visiting her every night."

Weiss blushed at being outed. Yang and Blake probably noticed and her statement only confirmed that she visited Ruby in the infirmary nightly, partially to tell her what she missed that day and also to keep her company.

"I doubt Ruby knows that," Yang finished deadpanned. "You can figure that out from there right?"

Weiss grimaced. "I was not expecting this…"

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "I need to talk to her."

"Go to the dorm. I'll send her there," Blake stated as she got up. Weiss was about to object but Blake interrupted her, "She needs to cool off first. Seeing you right now is just going to rile both you up."

Weiss made a face but couldn't refute her argument. Instead, she headed to the dorm to wait. Yang was thankfully tactful enough to avoid the room for a while.

* * *

><p>And so Weiss waited.<p>

And waited.

And waited.

True it was only for an hour and a half, but time seemed to crawl to a halt as she sat on her bed staring at the door.

_Blake said she would tell Ruby to come here. So why isn't she here?_

Weiss did not know why she was even fretting. A month ago and she would not have cared in the slightest. Now? Knowing that Ruby's sadness was somehow caused by her stirred… strange emotions within her.

Sympathy? Pity? Weiss wasn't sure.

What was going on through Ruby's mind? Weiss couldn't tell.

The only thing she did know? Ruby wasn't here yet.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

"…h-hey Weiss…" a soft voice called out from behind her.

"Ack!" Weiss jumped as she whirled around to face a meek Ruby with her hood up.

She quickly smoothed down her skirt and stated, "Ruby." Her nonchalant tone was only a miracle of years of training.

Ruby didn't say anything and simply fidgeted where she stood. Weiss didn't pressure her. She wanted to let Ruby make the first move.

"I… I'm sorry. For how I acted in the lunchroom earlier," Ruby apologized softly after a long moment of silence.

"Apology accepted," Weiss said curtly. "Though you have a few more apologies to hand out before the day's over."

Ruby just nodded.

"More importantly, we need to have a talk." Weiss patted a spot next to her bed, inviting Ruby to sit beside her. Ruby remained still.

"What's going on Ruby? This is the first time I've seen you flip out, and it's not because of your other self. I know."

"How?" Ruby didn't deny it, but she was curious as to how Weiss knew.

"Rose petals." Weiss pulled one out from her pocket. It was the first one she picked up when Ruby ran off after attacking Velvet. "They only show up when you run away."

Ruby didn't say anything. She wasn't planning on hiding her feelings anyways. She just… didn't know how to put them into words.

"Ruby," Weiss called out her name to remind her she was still waiting for an answer.

"I… I was being silly…" Ruby frowned and looked away.

"That's a lie. And we both know it. Try again."

"No, it's true!" Ruby insisted and pouted. "I-I thought you were going to leave me."

"And why would you think that?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

Ruby felt a surge of emotions swelling within her. All the emotions pent up for days spewed forth from Weiss' question. "Why? Why?! After I woke up, I wanted to spend time with you! But all you've been doing is playing with…with that dog! I even got to spend time with Blake and Yang! And it was fun! But I wanted to tell you about it! Because-because…. be cause…"

Ruby's voice broke towards the end. Unable to finish her statements from the choked cries and small hiccups. Tears and snot streamed down her face and she tried to wipe them on her sleeves.

Weiss got up and and pulled Ruby into a hug. Ruby struggled, trying to get away. She didn't want Weiss to see her crying like this. She didn't mean for these emotions to come out like this. She planned on apologizing and just let the matter settle. Weiss' stupid question broke the stupid dam holding everything back.

Weiss refused to let go. She didn't pull Ruby into a tight hug, she didn't even look at the girl. She just wrapped her arms around her.

"… because… I didn't get to see you for a long time… … … … "

Weiss didn't say anything for a while, just letting Ruby calm down.

"All this? Because you felt lonely?"

Ruby didn't say anything. She didn't have to, and Weiss still understood. She wasn't lonely. She had Yang and Blake and team JNPR. She could have talked and played with anyone she wanted in the school.

But she wanted to be with Weiss.

"You are so troublesome." Ruby froze at Weiss' tone. "I don't know if I should be annoyed at such an exasperating partner… or flattered at such a loyal one."

"All this because you were jealous of the attention I was giving Zwei?"

"Does 'jealous' means my chest hurt whenever I see you playing with him and I want you to play with me instead?"

"Well, the second part at least. Yes."

"Then yeah… I'm… jealous of Zwei."

Ruby took a deep breath. Just saying those words felt like her body got lighter. There was still a deep guilt that she couldn't get rid of for acknowledging that she wanted something someone else had.

"To be fair, I had a reason why I didn't talk to you yesterday," Weiss tried to justify herself, though she had no reason to. "I was busy looking up these," she pulled out her scroll. "I knew there weren't many interesting missions left, so I looked around to see if there was any way of making the missions available interesting."

Ruby stared wide-eye at the screen. A list of missions, their locations and objectives, and any interesting, historical, or cultural hotspots they could visit.

"Heh..." Ruby snorted. "I knew I was being silly... you were thinking about me... I acted like this for nothing..."

"Apparently not, since I didn't notice how you were feeling," Weiss murmured.

"I know why," Ruby pulled Weiss closer and buried her face in the heiress' shoulder. "Blake told me you visited me every night."

"She did?"

"Yep. …Also that I was out of line for what I did."

"Heh, that's putting it lightly," Weiss smiled. Ruby understood her mistake and confronted her feelings before it got too pent up. A small explosion, but certainly better than what could have happened if this situation had dragged on with her unawares for a few more days.

"Speaking of out of line, there's someone else who deserves an apology as well," Weiss let Ruby go and Ruby tilted her head in confusion.

Ruby immediately stiffened at the presence.

"Arf!"

Tongue lolling and panting slightly, Zwei was completely silent and Ruby completely overlooked him.

"Come on, you don't even know him," Weiss grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to the dog.

Ruby hesitated at first, but realized Weiss was right. She never gave Zwei a chance. She saw him and immediately felt threatened by him for being around her friends and quarters.

Ruby breathed deeply to steel herself. Cautiously she slowly extended her arm… her fingers. Her hand was right in front of his nose, feeling the warm breath of each pant. He looked… almost cute.

CHOMP!

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

A peaceful and silent day was rare at Beacon, and the students liked to enjoy it whenever they can.

BOOM!

Several students in the hallway was knocked off their feet as the door to team RWBY's dorm smashed against the opposite wall.

Amongst the splinters and dust, a small figure darted past, barking happily as it dodged between legs.

A killing intent followed that nearly suffocated everyone in the hall as a blood red blur shot out.

Yang was already in the hallway on the opposite end. She rushed to her dorm to see Weiss on the ground, gaping and pointing a shaking finger at the broken doorway.

* * *

><p><strong>Dang it Zwei! Why? <strong>

**So that happened. And all things happen for a reason.  
><strong>

**We learned a little more about Ruby's struggle and how she's trying to deal with it, and how others around her are also growing up.**

**Now, as promised, there is another story up on my tumblr, and you can find the link to it on my profile page. It's called "Let's Gift Ruby" and I guess I'm doing a thing where this story's Ruby is enjoying the holidays with her friends... hmm... Holiday AU!  
><strong>

**Though based on this story's characters, it's a bit of an alternate timeline since certain parts cannot occur until much later. Cute and sugary sweet, I hope you enjoy it and please leave a review for it and this story. I love to hear what you guys have to say!  
><strong>


	18. Red Rage Rampage

**Oh Zwei how are you getting out of this?**

* * *

><p>Chapter 18: Red. Rage. Rampage.<p>

_Rush… slide, veer!_

He gave a happy yip as he skid between the legs of passing students.

Cocking his head ever so slightly backwards, he caught a glimpse of his pursuer.

A red blur, the scent of blood and bloodlust thick around her.

He turned a sharp angle, but kept his momentum. She followed the exact same path and sped up.

"Grrr-awrl!" he barked back. A taunt.

He was impressed. For someone so huge compared to him, she made maneuvers that even he found hard.

But therein lies their difference.

She was pure skill. His? His was experience…

* * *

><p>Ruby couldn't see. She didn't need to see. Her vision was completely blocked and painted red. The distorted sounds and smells around her were only distractions. She had his scent, and she. will. kill.<p>

The chase couldn't have been more than a few minutes at best. Ducking between narrow pillars and jumping over low laying obstacles. She made sure not to collide with any of them, if only because they would have slowed her.

He was close. So very close.

Arm's reach away.

Her arm pulled back and her legs coiled.

SWIPE!

"Arf!" a sharp bark cried out and her eyes tracked his body sailing through the air and smashing through the window.

Without hesitating, she jumped after him.

Broken bones, torn organs, blood splatters.

None of that littered the ground. Where was he?! She swiveled her head trying to catch his scent…

"Arf!"

There!

Her eyes narrowed at his retreating remark. If he thinks hiding in the forest will help him, he is sadly mistaken. Her forest. Her hunt.

She lifted her head and howled loudly. His only warning that the hunt has begun.

The undergrowth barred no trouble as she relied on her other self's memories. Move swiftly but silently. Guarded but ready to kill. A snapped twig. A disturbed leaf. The smallest signs painted a clear path to her target.

The moment he broke his cover, she was atop him. She took another swipe and launched him at a tree.

A twisted and feral grin appeared as she heard the satisfying CRACK! Dark, dry bark chipped off and scattered in the air.

But he landed, shook himself off and ran again.

She could only gape at where he fell. With an annoyed snarl, she took off again.

And again the process repeated. No matter how many time she struck him, nothing worked! Blows that have rent limbs from Ursae only tossed him away! As if not even a single strand of fur was touched.

"Grrr-ar-arf!" he called back to her as he sped up a small hill.

She snarled. _YOUNG?! I'll show him young!_

While Ruby raged and tore through the undergrowth, her other half watched. The thrill of the hunt was no stranger to her. But she knew. In the maelstrom of emotions, the clarity to pursue the prey is keenly necessary. Perhaps strange that she would think of clarity considering her past furious mentality, but the hunter in her knew how to focus that raw destructive power into her claws and fangs even while under madness.

But Ruby didn't.

She frowned as she watched Ruby burn through her energy. So excessive. So many unnecessary movements. And the petals were bad enough from their scent alone.

In a short matter of time, Ruby collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily and sweating. Her muscles ached from overextended use and oxygen deficiency. She hadn't let go of her anger, but her body had to admit its limits.

She saw Zwei just in front of her, just out of reach. Taunting. Still unhurt.

She willed her body to move, gasping as pain lanced through her muscles.

Why? She was sure that her other self kept up the chase for far longer than this. Why was she so tired now?

Her other self shook her head exasperatedly. Ruby had burnt through all of her energy reserves so she didn't have anymore to clear up her bloodstream. Ruby also didn't leave enough to jumpstart her reserves. Though thinking back… the first few times she hunted, she had to learn the same lessons… so maybe it's a good thing for Ruby to learn now? She shrugged and decided to continue observing Ruby's antics. The dog… amused her.

Zwei realized that she couldn't move anymore and paced closer to her. Stopping right before her face, he leaned in close.

"Arf…"

"Wha-!"

"Rrrrow-ar-ar-arf!" his ears flattened back as he let loose a series of barks. She tilted her head, trying to understand.

"What do you mean 'eye to eye'?"

Ruby suddenly realized she always looked down on him from above. True, it was due to their natural difference in heights, but also in her trying to assert her dominance.

"Well, I'm down now," she muttered. Not much she could have done, given her state. Her arms hurt a bit less now, so she propped herself on her forearms and laid flat on her stomach.

Zwei did the same to maintain their eye contact. Being this close, Ruby finally noticed something.

"You have gray eyes too huh?"

"Arf!" he barked happily and Ruby couldn't help but smile that they had at least some common ground despite everything.

She admitted that she was a bit too hasty in deciding he was a threat without ever even speaking to him. Worried that he was taking her place. Worried that Weiss paid more attention to him than her.

She frowned. But she was about to change that. She had extended her hand in peace.

"So why did you bite me?" she whispered.

"Grrrrrrlllllll…." a low growl.

"Weiss? What's she got to do with anything?" Ruby wondered. "She was trying to help us get along."

He nodded and tried to explain.

Weiss was a good girl, trying to bridge the bond between them. But their issues must be resolved between themselves by themselves if there was to be any real meaning. Had they made up then and there, any future conflict between them would be suppressed for Weiss' sake. She would act as the bridge between them, and they could never truly be friends.

Ruby stared at Zwei. He nodded contently as the cogs in her mind worked out what he said.

"Zwei…" she started slowly. "I have no idea what any of that means."

Zwei face-palmed, looking quite odd for a dog to do so.

"I mean, friends are friends, right?" Ruby asked. What was the difference if Weiss was the one to bring them together?

Because the same bridge that connected them is the same bridge that stood between them. A filter. A proxy. They would keep up a pretense of friendship because it would make Weiss happy but the nagging wonder of why they were friends would always float in the background.

Zwei stood up and looked straight at Ruby, slightly towering over her from their new positions. Ruby gulped nervously as he padded closer to her, inches… then centimeters away from her face.

"H-hey! What are you-!"

_I was really looking forward to meeting you…_

Her eyes widened as a wet tongue rolled up and down her face. For a full minute, she froze in shock as he continued his ministrations.

"I- how- you- words!"

Zwei panted with a lolling tongue as he gave her a cheeky look.

_You understand._

"What do you mean understand?" Ruby pouted at him. If anything, she felt more confused.

_How you understand me?_

"I don't know," Ruby shrugged. "I always did…. just…. not this clearly?"

_Not a threat._

Ruby pondered over Zwei's… words. No, before then, she understood when he barked and howled, but it was more of crude meanings she managed to grasped. Now, his movements were more clear, the gestures he made carried slight meaning of their own. Still barking pretty loudly though.

"So I can understand you better now… because I'm not seeing you as a threat?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

Zwei nodded sagely.

_If Weiss, not possible._

"Because I would still see you as a threat," Ruby stated more than question.

Again, a nod.

Ruby frowned and shook the last of the aches from her muscles. She slowly stood up and turned away from Zwei, trying to focus her feelings.

The whole chase, him biting her hand, this conversation…. after all of that, her emotions seemed a bit farther away, as if her previous anger and jealousy drifted on while she spoke with him. Still…

"This leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Ruby stuck her tongue out at him. She sunk down into a predatory position. Her mouth pulled into a slight smirk as she saw him do the same. "We still need to figure out who's in charge here. Even if you accepted me and I accepted you, even if we understand each other, these feelings haven't gone away yet."

Zwei looked at her for a moment. He barked happily as he lunged forward. Ruby let out a small laugh as she did the same. Instead of running away, both of them now charged each other to determine once and for all, who the leader will be.

SMASH!

A force knocked both of them from the side, slamming them into the trees.

Zwei bounced off harmlessly while Ruby slid to the ground. She quickly got up to identify her assaulter while trying to heal her injuries and get her bearings.

A giant bear with bone armor.

Ruby glared at the Ursa and let the wolf take over.

"Good," she muttered. "I was still feeling a little angry."

A savage howl shook the canopy of trees as she lunged forward. True to her words, two ursine arms lay uselessly on the ground in a matter of seconds. The Grimm barely had time to register its missing limbs before it lost it's head.

Ruby licked the blood from her claws as she walked slowly up to the corpse. She bent down and was about to claim her prize when a black and white blur slammed into her.

"Zwei!" she shouted exasperatedly and looked down at the dog. He was a bit dizzy but less damaged than her.

A roar drew her attention to what had sent him flying.

Another Ursa. Over five times her own height. Headed straight for them.

Despite its size, the bear was not impeded by the trees in the slightest. It crushed everything in its path as it charged. The moment it broke into the clearing, it sniffed and walked over to its slain kin.

_**ggGGggRrRlLllL**_

A low guttural growl as it turned towards Ruby.

Even she did not want to fight against an opponent this size. Its hide and bones were too thick for her to cut with her claws alone.

She held on tightly to Zwei and in a red blur of petals, she was gone.

Using her sense of smell, she started to backtrack towards Beacon. The last time she saw a Grimm bigger than that was during the Initiation, and she had an entire team to help take it down.

_Danger!_

Ruby suddenly jumped, dodging a Beowolf's jaws, but she slowed as her senses started to pick up. Even more alert, she looked around to see Grimm swarming around her. All of them lesser Grimm that she could handle easily, but with such numbers, her speed would do little to help her. No room, no maneuverability.

Her eyes glanced towards the treetops and saw dark shadows flitting from one tree to another. Nevermores and maybe even squirrel Grimm. She would have even less maneuverability in midair, so that was not an option either.

She growled dangerously. She flexed one arm to show her claws in intimidation when she realized she was still holding on to Zwei. She bit down the growl and looked at him. If she was holding him, she will be unable to fight freely… but even if her attacks didn't hurt him, she hesitated at the thought of putting him down and at the mercy of the Grimm.

"Grrrrrllllll," Zwei growled at the Grimm as well. He nodded at her and she understood.

Placing him on the ground, she took her stance once again.

"You're right, we can get back to killing each other after this," she smirked.

Putting him out of her mind, she concentrated on the group of Grimm right in front of her. Before they realized she had even move, they lost their heads.

Ruby carefully wove through the slight gaps left from the falling bodies, each Grimm took only one fatal wound. She gritted her teeth as the numbers piled up.

Ten.

Her breathing came in shallower and shallower pants as her lungs desperately craved oxygen. Her vision grew hazy as her limbs drank up all available air. But she couldn't stop, her claws were all that stood between her and death.

Twenty.

Blackening. The corners of her vision darkened and she could no longer rely on her other senses. Too much blood. Too much noise. Too much pain. Every movement tore at her muscles, far past overextending as she felt each scrape and tear on her bones. Her strikes slowed, weakened. Some barely drew blood and tore out her claws while her enemies retaliated in turn.

Fifty.

Fangs and claws gored at her, tearing out chunks of flesh. As fast as her skin and flesh knitted back together to keep her from bleeding out, she could feel the toll as her body got slower and slower.

She didn't keep track anymore. Too many Grimm. Far too many to try and cut a path and escape as she had hoped. Every Grimm struck down was immediately replaced and the battle of attrition had gone on for far too long, even if she had not already wasted her energy.

By now, she could barely see, attacking and dodging through pure instincts. But even that would not last long. The blows slowly became unavoidable. The best she could do was make them non-lethal.

She lashed out with her foot, feeling it connect to an opponent and promptly propelled herself backwards to try and get some distance. Skidding on the blood drenched grass, she shook her head to try and clear her vision. Futile.

A pained cry and whimper rang through the air as she swiveled her head to try and pinpoint Zwei.

Another Grimm tried to charge her, but she sensed and jumped on top of it. She kept shaking her head, her fight would be so much easier if she could only see.

Blurred colors came together, desaturated and unfocused, but enough. Zwei was pinned by a pack of Beowolves. They bit and tore at him. Though he didn't bleed and fought back, each attack made him cry out in pain as they aimed for his most vulnerable and sensitive spots.

But she still felt the anger bubbling up.

Seeing him attacked… her vision died down again... only...

Red. Rage. Rampage.

…

…

"Arf! Arf!"

Her breathing slowed.

_You okay?_

She shook her head to clear the red of her eyes. She looked around at the bloodied scene around her. Her arms and legs ached, but she gave a contented smirk as she saw limbs and ribs strewn about.

Zwei nuzzled her legs, trying to get her attention. She looked down to see a worried look in his eyes.

She nodded. Her body felt heavy from overuse but will be fine after a night's sleep. Her arms were like lead, but at least her legs still worked, if a bit stiffly.

"That means you're walking on your own," she grunted.

Zwei nodded, and barely two steps away, another tree fell with a deafening crash!

They both spun around to see the giant Ursa once again behind them.

Ruby groaned, knowing that trying to outrun it in her state would not be fun.

It lumbered towards them, but still quicker than Ruby's heavy feet.

In her haste to move, Ruby tripped over root, slid down a small hill, and face planted hard. Rubbing the sting out of her eyes, she looked back to see the Ursa upon her, paw raised and ready to rip her apart as she had done to so many of its brethren.

Move! Roll! Anything!

But her body refused to listen. It refused to even look away as the claws descended. Her breath hitched as she realized the inevitability of death encroaching upon her.

_Leave her alone!_

_**RRRAOQQRRLRLR!**_

A pained roar as Zwei jumped from the top of the hill onto the Ursa's head. He bit and tore whatever he could reach. Though the skin and fur might have been too thick and the bone armor too tough for either him or Ruby, the eyes were not so hard. He was knocked to the ground, but not before taking its left eye with him.

Ruby got to her feet and took off, Zwei hot on her heel. Tired and injured as she was, he easily kept pace with her and they ran until Beacon was in sight.

* * *

><p>Blake sighed as she heard the same conversation for the umpteenth time.<p>

"And I keep telling you Weiss, you're not worrying about Ruby enough!"

"I am too worried about her! I'm just more worried about her massacring Zwei!"

"Fat chance of that happening," Yang muttered.

Blake was surprised when she heard about what happened between Weiss, Ruby, and Zwei. She was more surprised when Yang showed no regards to her dog's wellbeing.

"Let me tell you a little story," Yang piqued their interest. "When I was younger, I was pretty lonely because of circumstances. I even wished for a little sister," she chuckled. "That year, my dad didn't bring home a little sister, but he did bring home a dog he found on the streets. You know how… rough I can get when playing right? Well, back then I really didn't know how to control my own strength. Cuts, scrapes, even broken bones were normal for me. But even when playing with Zwei, I have never seen him hurt in the slightest."

Yang grinned. "If anything we should be worried about Ruby. She's a lot frailer than everyone thinks. Even herself."

"RUBY!"

They heard a scream from the courtyard and immediately ran out.

There, passed out and leaning against a tree was Ruby and Zwei. Both drenched from head to toe in blood.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

A good bath and night's rest and both Ruby and Zwei were back to peak health. By now, they have gathered quite a gathering of admirers who half-jokingly commented that Ruby was a game protagonist and she only needed an inn to be invincible.

Despite that, Weiss have forced both of them to remain in the room under her watchful eye. Reprimanding both of them for their actions yesterday, she was happy to see that they got along a bit better. Not to say they were immediately friends and played around as Ruby often did with Yang and others, but life-threatening experiences tended to form an unspoken trust.

Weiss was happy to do her homework in relative silence as Ruby read on her bed and Zwei did whatever dogs did.

Until…

"You know…" Ruby called out from her bed, drawing Weiss and Zwei's attention.

"We never did find out who's top dog," she grinned ferally.

Weiss gaped as she saw Zwei match the grin.

Both immediately took to opposite sides of the room, hunched low and circling each other.

"Ruby Rose! Zwei! You will not be having your dog fight in this room!" Weiss screeched to ears deaf to all but each other.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh Ruby, led on through pretty much the whole chase. At least she learned her limits a bit more. Might want to work on that.<strong>

**So I hope you like this interpretation of Zwei. In so many stories, Zwei is shown to be simple, fun loving, and young. I wanted to see if I can write an older, wiser, and maybe even slightly smug Zwei who knows a bit more of the world than many of us are accustom to. What do you think?  
><strong>

**Since it is so close to the holidays, I wanted to show Ruby and Zwei making some progress and end the chapter on a bit of a happy note. I got some encouraging words on the special I posted about last chapter so if you haven't seen it, I would like to encourage you to. I hope it puts a smile on your face. Seasons greetings everyone!**


	19. A Step Forward

**The year is almost over!**

**Such a short time, and we're already this far. Thank you everyone for sticking through this with me and I hope to deliver even greater things in the future!**

**Let's start the new year off on the right foot and take...**

* * *

><p>Chapter 19: A Step Forward<p>

"We're going to Mistral!" Ruby exclaimed to Yang and Blake as she bounced into the room. Weiss entered more calmly and shook her head at how excited Ruby is in contrast to the situation.

"That's the mission?" Yang asked from her bed.

"Yep!" Ruby handed her scroll to Yang so she could read the details.

"Let's see… patrol work… walking… running… maybe an occasional traffic accident…" Yang's eyes drooped with every word and Ruby's excitement dropped with it.

"I'm sorry," Ruby whimpered. "It was the only one left..."

During her extended stay in the infirmary, every other exciting mission was already picked. Ruby would have wanted something exciting as well, like traveling to a wilderness and fighting the Grimm, or working with a detective hunter to infiltrate an underground crime ring. Sadly, those missions were gone within 15 minutes of being posted.

"But! But! Weiss helped look into all the stuff we can do and I don't think any of us have been there before!"

"Ruby does have a point," Blake pointed out. "We should still find a way to make the most of this trip since it'll be the first time we go on a mission together."

"Guess so," Yang replied as she tossed the scroll back to Ruby. "Go for it!" she grinned her approval.

Ruby nodded and started to register for the mission.

"Hmm?"

"What's going on?" Weiss peered over her shoulder. "Error?"

_**RE: Mission Registration - Team RWBY - Mistral Patrol**_

_**Team RWBY:**_

_**You have been registered for the Mistral Patrol Mission. However, an issue has occurred regarding deployment. Please remain on standby until further notice.**_

"What?" Yang raised an eyebrow as Weiss read the message aloud.

"Sounds like we can't move out yet," Blake answered as she joined them. "Can you pick another mission?"

"I don't think so," Weiss narrowed her eyes in deep thought. "We're already registered so we'd have to cancel this mission, and I'd rather not have that as a mark on my record."

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "Canceling a patrol mission is kinda…"

"So we're off until they notify us?" Ruby wondered.

"Not on your life," Weiss stated as she dragged Ruby out by the back of her hood. "We've wasted enough valuable time as it is. Gym. Now."

Blake smiled at their antics. Ruby did not look opposed at all to Weiss's training. In fact, she eagerly went along with most of what Weiss suggested, happy to spend more time with the heiress. Of course, most of that time was spent either studying in the library or sparring in the gym.

"What about you, Blake?" Yang asked.

Blake pondered on what she should do. She remembered seeing the White Fang stealing Dust the night Ruby was put into a week long coma. While she had confronted them, she was glad she was not on an emotional high at the time. She hadn't revealed that she used to be one of them; defectors tended to meet messy ends. The time after that was spent mostly worrying about Ruby, so there was a lead she could follow on now that she had some free time.

"You could follow Ruby's example and get along with Zwei," Yang suggested helpfully when she didn't respond.

"Yeah….no," Blake dismissed her suggestion. While Ruby may have resolved her issues with Zwei, Blake didn't trust the canine in the slightest. Something behind those silvery eyes… an intelligence she couldn't quite grasp. He… scared her.

Thankfully a short bout resulted in Ruby managing to pin Zwei for a bit, establishing herself as the victor… for the week.

"I'm just going to do some research," she finally told Yang as she headed out.

"On that group that stole the Dust?"

Her eyes widened as she whirled around. Yang grinned cockily at her, arms folded across her chest.

"How'd you know?" Blake asked as nonchalantly as she could.

"What? Not even going to deny it?" Yang raised an eyebrow. She had thought Blake would skirt around a little, not be this forthright.

"…No point," Blake admitted with a shrug. "Just wanted to know how you knew."

A half truth. There shouldn't be any connections between her and the White Fang, so this should just be a simple curiosity for what happened that night. Blake was interested in finding out what they were up to, but she had no intentions of interacting any further. They were a danger to her, themselves, and everyone around them.

She ran away, she didn't want to risk going back, but she wasn't going to stand around while they terrorized innocent people.

Yang rubbed the back of her head and chuckled. "Heh, call it a hunch." At Blake's expression she smirked, "Okay, it's been the only thing interesting in the past few weeks and I took a stab at it."

She walked over to Blake and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Besides, you seem like something's weighing you down. So let me help."

Blake frowned. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why help me?"

"You're my partner, why else?" Yang responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Blake looked at her for a moment, trying to discern any lie or uncertainty in her voice.

"And because it seems fun," Yang admitted.

Blake snorted. Both true apparently.

Yang took that as an approval. "Great! So what do we know?"

"They were the White Fang. I saw their symbol," Blake answered honestly. No point in trying to deny Yang now, she noted with a wry smirk. Somehow, the idea of investigating seemed less daunting with her partner helping.

"The Faunus group? Why would they need that much Dust?"

"I don't know… they were also working with someone. Roman Torchwick."

"Welp, there's one connection," Yang stated as she recalled his profile. "String of Dust robberies, huh? But he's… a human right? I didn't think the White Fang would accept a human."

"Especially not one like him," Blake spat bitterly. She quickly caught herself, "At least that's what I managed to dig up."

"So why…?" Yang muttered as she started rummaging through her closet.

"Some kind of mutual benefit, but what could he offer them?" Blake wondered.

"Tons of Dust? If I needed it, I'd probably look for him," Yang pointed out. "I mean, the police still haven't caught him yet."

Blake could agree with that logic. So the question remained: what is the Dust for? She was so distracted she almost got brained by a helmet thrown her way by Yang.

"W-what's this for?" she questioned as she turned it over.

Yang strapped on a glaringly bright yellow helmet with shades, grinning confidently, "Let's ride!"

* * *

><p>Ruby and Weiss noted that the gym was rather void of people. Many were still out on their missions, especially now that they had a few weeks to acclimate to Beacon. Older students were expected to take more missions and some seniors apparently only came back to the campus during important events.<p>

Not that this mattered much, in fact Weiss was glad for the bit of solitude. Too many times had Ruby gone to the gym intent on getting a decent workout but getting distracted by someone who wanted to talk or play with her. Other times they would have gawkers whenever they sparred. Today was nice and quiet and empty.

"So shall we try a combination today?" Weiss asked as she logged Ruby and herself into the monitors. They had all realized quickly that attempting to attack all at once on one enemy was a fast way to lose. Their attacks somehow ended up crossing each other and the training dummy suffered embarrassingly less damage then they had.

As a rudimentary plan, until they could learn to work with each other better, they had paired off to work on combination attacks. While Ruby excelled at initiation, she suffered from prolonged fights. Her combinations with Yang were the most efficient since Ruby kept poking at the enemies' weak points while Yang followed up with crushing blows. Blake and Weiss did not have quite as much synergy with her, though Blake's speed and clone semblance used in conjunction with Ruby's speed could whittle an opponent down in no time.

Sadly, with a lack of range attacks, Ruby hadn't been able to work with Weiss' glyphs. Haste glyphs were unnecessary with Ruby's already insane speeds, and Weiss immediately shot down the idea of using a defensive glyph on Ruby to shoot her forward as a bullet. The only combinations they had achieved were using platform glyphs for Ruby to bounce around the opponent in midair, an interesting trick but one that lacked versatility and difficult to maintain depending on the terrain.

"The bullet idea still seems like the best one," Ruby pouted. She was perfectly fine with the idea, even arguing that the defensive glyph wasn't necessary; she took down the Nevermore without one.

"Absolutely not," Weiss refuted without hesitation. "If the attack fails, then you will be left vulnerable and we will be too far away to provide support." She had been against the Nevermore attack and her worry for Ruby's safety had only increased since then, especially considering her leader's penchant for ending up in the infirmary.

Ruby knew there was no point in continuing the argument. Once Weiss had decided on something, nothing short of a miracle would move her.

"Well, how about we focus on something else then?" Ruby suggested.

"Like what?"

"Your endurance?"

"W-what?" Weiss faltered for a moment.

Ruby grinned, seeing her chance to initiate the training for once. "Everyone's endurance is okay except yours. You get tired too easily."

"I do not!" Weiss scoffed.

"Yes you do," Ruby insisted.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

Weiss stopped herself before she engaged in the most inane of schoolyard bickering. Perhaps Ruby did have a point, she begrudgingly admitted. She did get tired after using her glyphs repeatedly, but that was a natural fatigue as she spent her Aura to power her semblance! Her physical capabilities were not quite as stacked as her teammates either…

"Okay, fine, so how do we increase my endurance?"

Ruby shrugged, not having thought that far. "I don't know? Keep using it?"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course Ruby wouldn't know. She never used Dust before.

An idea popped into her head. But maybe Ruby was on to something. Instantiating glyphs for short periods of time took up energy, and maintaining them took up even more, so maybe she could train that way.

"I'm going to need your help for this training though," she looked at Ruby. Ruby grinned back, eager to help. "You're also going to get some training out of this."

Weiss stood several meters away from Ruby. She loaded Myrtenaster and flicked, creating a blue glyph.

"This is a repulsion glyph," she explained to Ruby. "I'm going to try and maintain it for as long as possible. You're going to try and break through and reach me. Not that you will," Weiss stated confidently.

"Got it!" Ruby got low and prepared to run. Even this far away she could still feel her hair being pushed back slightly.

Weiss took a deep breath to prepare herself and placed her hand on the glyph. Close contact will allow her to minutely refine how strong it is and how much it will drain from her. Ruby will try to reach it in a quick burst. She will have to keep that in mind. Strong enough to stop Ruby from reaching her, not strong enough to pin Ruby to the wall… that would be a nice finisher…

"GO!"

Weiss' eyes went wide as she felt Ruby impacting the repulsive force. Despite pushing Ruby back, Weiss felt the return force trying to push her away. She narrowed her eyes and placed more of her Aura into the glyph strengthening the force.

Through the rushing winds she saw Ruby pressing forward. Cape fluttering behind her, Ruby staggered forward as if walking through a hurricane.

Weiss smirked. This should prove that no matter how fast Ruby can go, there are still some forces she will not be able to overcome. No matter how hard Ruby pushed against the glyph, the repulsion will keep her at bay until she runs out of energy. And of course, Weiss' meticulous glyphs will endure more than Ruby's speed.

Ruby forced her eyes shut against the rushing wind, a natural instinct to keep debris from damaging her eyes during her runs. Unfortunately, this also stopped her from seeing how far she was from Weiss. With the air blasting backwards like a wind tunnel, anything she would normally use to sense her opponent was stripped away as well. Her internal clock became distorted, knowing she should have reached her target by now considering how faster her legs were moving, but oddly not. Perception and spacial recognition stretched like a rubber band.

Weiss could see Ruby inching forward and pressed her advantage. The glyph roared as the sudden pressure evacuated the air right in front of it, a small boom pushed Ruby back from her hard earned distance. Yet Weiss could not smile. The force was even stronger than before, and Ruby still made the same slow progress.

_How is she still going against it?_

Weiss felt the pressure as her Aura quickly depleted to maintain the glyph.

"Gah!" she gasped as another force pushed her back a few inches.

Steady slams against the glyph. Each time, Ruby's image blurred slightly before jumping forward towards her.

Weiss' breath quickened. _Is she serious?!_

Ever bit of her aura was poured into the glyph. It wouldn't last nearly as long, but she needed to push Ruby back. At least even a little bit!

Cracks formed on the glyph, too much energy destabilized the formation. Weiss didn't care. She gritted her teeth. Just one misstep… that was all she needed…

Ruby felt the winds getting stronger. At least, she thought she did. Everything felt so far away as she tried to speed up even faster. 'Just a little more' she repeated over and over. But no matter how fast she pushed, she couldn't feel any progress. Each step she took caused the gap to expand even further as her mind was sped up to keep up with her legs. The few meters that separated her and Weiss now stood leagues across in her perception.

Her balance was suddenly skewed as her foot missed contact with the floor.

Weiss smiled weakly. Victory was hers!

But Ruby immediately dug her claws into the ground, barely managing to stop her self from getting pushed back. Her legs dangled in the air as she struggled to curl her body and set them on the ground again. Each second pulled at her nails, threatening to uproot them.

"It's over Ruby!" Weiss called out to her, not wanting to let up on the glyph yet in case Ruby's pent up energy will propel her to the nearest wall.

But her words were lost to the wind.

Weiss was about to lift her hand from the glyph and let it peter out when she saw Ruby lift a hand and slammed it down in front of her other, driving her nails into the floor like pitons. She repeated the process, forcing herself to keep moving even as her legs flailed in the air.

Only a few feet away, Weiss strained to amplify the glyph. She felt her body freeze up. It was at the utmost limit already; like a faucet fully opened, even though she still had a slight bit of Aura left, she would be unable to use it!

At the same time, Ruby doesn't seem to be able to progress any more. The last bit of push from Weiss stopped her arm from moving forward.

"A tie?" Weiss clicked her tongue. She was about to think of something else when she saw Ruby finally managing to plant her feet on the ground.

Her eyes widened. _She couldn't possibly be thinking…!_

Ruby felt it.

This is as far as she will be able to crawl. She can't move pass this point as she currently was. The closer she got to the glyph, the stronger the force pushing her back. This was her maximum distance.

But she refused to let it end like this.

Her body coiled up. Drawing every bit of strength from her arms, back, and everywhere else she could muster, she packed everything and her speed into her legs.

_Even if I get blown back… I want to see how far I can go!_

CRASH!

Ruby pounced forward, a full body blow into the glyph!

It shattered like glass as Weiss stared comically at Ruby's fast approaching form!

Without the glyph to slow her down, all of Ruby's speed returned like a rubber band that was snapped.

The moment Weiss saw what Ruby was planning, she immediately side-stepped to avoid a head on collision. Despite running on empty Aura, she willed a defensive glyph in front of Ruby to help absorb what she could.

Ruby smashed into the opposite wall with a resounding crash, sending cracks along the surface and creating a small hole. She groaned a bit as her body quickly started to repair any broken bones and other damage she took. Eyes glazed as she opened them, her mind took a moment to reassert its perception before she made out Weiss' face looking worriedly at her.

"Ruby! Ruby!" Weiss called out to her.

Ruby shook her body free from the small amount of rubble. Cuts she sustained from the buffeting winds quickly closed before flesh regenerated beneath them, never failing to amaze Weiss that Ruby seemed like she will never suffer a scar.

"What happened?" Ruby asked as she looked herself over to make sure she didn't have a piece of debris still lodged in her somewhere.

"You broke through my glyph," Weiss said in a small voice, the realization finally sinking in. The fatigue as well as she collapsed to her knees. Ruby was instantly by her side looking her over and fretting that Weiss pushed herself too far.

Weiss chuckled at the thought. While she does not make it a habit, this was not the first time she had pushed herself to this point of exhaustion. Her early training had her pressed this far from trying to cast as many glyphs as she could in one day, but this was the first time she tried to push her limits in a while… thinking back, why?

Why did she push herself so far in this struggle against Ruby? They had started out to train a bit, nothing hard. She looked at Ruby still fretting and rushing everywhere to try and find water, towels, and whatever else she thought Weiss needed.

_Yeah, that's why… _

Seeing Ruby pushing so hard against her glyph, meeting it head on instead of going around or giving up, Weiss felt compelled to give her all as well.

She winced as she laid flat on the ground, just staring at the ceiling.

Turning her head to where Ruby struggled against the glyph, she gaped at the wall. The repulsion glyph was meant to be used in small scale maneuvers, like moving an ally, enemy, or obstacle a short distance to better one's vantage. She never had a need to appreciate what happened to a constantly applied force: the opposing wall was in more derelict than the one Ruby crashed through. Paint and dry wall were completely stripped away, revealing the reinforced metal skeleton underneath.

_All that force and Ruby still moved forward?_

She saw her leader rushing up to her, arms ladened with too many bottles of water either of them could drink.

"Pfft…" a small laugh escaped her. Slowly it turned into true laughter as she realized just how unbound Ruby was to limits.

"W-Weiss?!" Ruby nervously asked as she saw her partner laughing like a maniac. "Are you okay?"

"Heh~" Weiss wiped away a small tear. "Haha~ just wondering how we're going to explain that to the school." She gestured towards the walls they broke.

Ruby noticed the wall Weiss' glyph had affected and her excitement returned.

"Wow Weiss! Look at what you did!"

"Ugh~ don't remind me," Weiss grumbled as her laugh tapered off, now acutely aware of how much trouble they would be in. Her earlier elation seemed a bit out of place now.

"Who cares about that!"

"I care about that!"

"Who cares!" Ruby repeated joyfully. "We got a combination!"

"Huh?!"

"I can rush in and distract the enemy, and then you can set up your glyph. You can flatten a whole wall of Grimm!"

"But then you'll be-" Weiss' words died out as she saw Ruby's plan. Ruby would just run to the side and escape the glyph, or failing that, she had proven that she could weather the effects for a while.

Weiss folded her arms and pouted. "Not much of a combination since you can just distract them and any one of us could take shots."

"Awww~ come on! At least call it a step in the right direction," Ruby grinned and poked Weiss' side.

"Eep!" Weiss jerked slightly from her supine position. "Don't do that!" she chided crossly.

She froze when she saw the look on Ruby's face.

It was the same look Ruby had when she pinned Zwei to the floor after a long and epic ten minute struggle. Of course what happened next…

"We did say we were going to practice our endurance," Ruby said in a glassy voice.

"Ruby," Weiss' voice was dangerous and her eyes narrowed, as if daring Ruby to continue her train of thought.

Ruby took the dare.

Hands flashed forward and fingers raked across Weiss' sides and stomach.

"N-nooooooOO!" Weiss squealed as Ruby tickled her.

Ruby found that while Zwei didn't take damage from her attacks, he still felt it, and a poorly aimed strike struck a funny nerve. After that, it was easy to force him to submit.

Her eyes glinted. Weiss will be no different.

"Gahahahahahahahahaha!" Weiss cried. "S-sTop! Ruby! Cut it- ahahaha- out!"

* * *

><p><strong>Extra:<strong>

How long did it last?

She didn't know. Her fingers flew and in the midst of it, her hands slipped under Weiss' bolero jacket. As her nails gently traced Weiss skin, she felt the girl quiver and let out peals of laughter even louder.

She grinned as she found another sensitive spot.

Eventually, Weiss' breathing grew harsh and Ruby let up on her. Ruby got off from atop her partner and stared at Weiss' glassy eyes.

"Hehe~! You're endurance is worse than I thought," Ruby playfully taunted. "One belly rub and you're down for the count like Zwei!"

Weiss' breathing stopped.

Wrong words as Weiss quickly sat up and pinned Ruby to the ground. Ruby was paralyzed in shock that Weiss was still moving.

"Don't underestimate my competitiveness," Weiss growled into her ear. She sat up straighter while making sure to place her center of gravity right over Ruby's waist to prevent her from escaping.

"One sneak attack, failing to make sure I'm down for the count, and then boasting?" Weiss tutted. Her smile became sadistic. "Let me show you what a 'belly rub' really means…"

Ruby gulped in pure terror. "N-nooooo…" she whimpered. Her arms instinctively wrapped around her stomach and sides to protect her but Weiss cruelly pulled her arms away.

Weiss immediately set to work, tickling Ruby through her dark colored shirt, getting giggles from the girl.

_Foolishness._ Weiss smirked.

Ruby fought back against the small giggles that escaped her mouth. It wasn't as bad as she thought-!

Weiss lifted Ruby's shirt and started to massage her sides, digging her fingers slightly into those sensitive nerve bundles and wiggling her fingers.

Unprepared, Ruby let out a raucous laugh at the sudden onslaught.

"Nooooo! -Aahahahahaahaha- Stop! It's -ack-ahaha- gonna-hahahaha come out!"

Weiss unrelentingly went back and forth, letting Ruby rest a bit with small tickles so she could catch her breath, and then randomly restarting her strong assault. The result was waves of laughter and pleasure crashing against Ruby's mind, and Ruby quickly admitted defeat before long.

Not that Weiss ever let a marked opponent away that easily…

How long did it last?

Ruby didn't know. At some point, she must have passed out, because by the time she regained her senses, she felt Weiss' hand slowly rubbed back and forth on her stomach. Not tickling, just rubbing her belly.

"Finally up?" Weiss smirked, knowing her victory.

Ruby bowed her head in acceptance. She quickly jumped up and rushed towards the door.

"Ruby?!"

"Bathroom!" Ruby shouted back. She was worried she would wet herself when Weiss tickled her, but it was a miracle that she held it in that long.

As she finished her business, her hand strayed just below her navel.

Warm… right where Weiss sat while on top of her… and Ruby felt a strange itch deep, deep within her.

* * *

><p><strong>Hoping to end the year on a fluffy note. And lead into the next arc. <strong>

**So if Ruby beat Zwei with a belly rub and Weiss beats Ruby... who's really at the top?**

**Anyways, it's another holiday so another special is up! As always, you can find a link to it on my author's profile page. Please tell me what you think about it and this chapter! My goal is to overload everyone with warm, fuzzy feelings!  
><strong>

**Let's meet each other again in the coming year ~ Happy New Years everyone!**


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